Date | Major developments |
1998 | -The Administrative Reform Committee (ARC) began to lead the campaign for identifying issues of reform in tax administration -Improvements were made to the tax investigation system, including the pre-notification requirement, introduction of the taxpayer’s right to request postponement, and the participation of taxpayer-authorized representatives in the whole process; the accountability of administration was also enhanced |
Oct. 1998 | -The EDI system was created to receive national taxes online |
1998-1999 | -Active tax and administrative support was provided for structural readjustment (e.g., minimizing tax interferences in corporate mergers and acquisitions, providing tax benefits for SMBs, etc.) -The Tax Evasion and Fraud Countermeasure Council was set up within NTS headquarters, and launched information-gathering task forces in tax offices nationwide |
1999 | -The NTS was reorganized by function (with 1 district branch shutting down and 35 of the 134 tax offices being merged or abolished) -Taxpayer protection officers were appointed -The National Tax Handbook was published, providing information on all areas of tax administration |
Sep. 1999 | -The NTS’ intranet was launched to improve the productivity of tax administration |
1999-2001 | -A nationwide tax records system was set up -The Act on the Submission and Management of Tax Records went into effect (July 2000) |
2001 | -The Home Tax Service was launched as part of the e-Government project -Most tasks of taxation began to be handled online (by April 2002) |
Aug. 2001 | -The Office of International Taxation Management was revived to review foreign currency transactions |
2002 | -The standard income rate system was replaced with the standard expense rate system |
2001-2003 | -The NTS began to invest in training international tax investigators and also reinforced the system of cooperation with the Financial Information Unit (FIU) and other authorities to facilitate investigations of persons suspected of tax evasion in tax havens |
May 2003 | -Special tax investigations were abolished and replaced by tax offense investigations |
Aug. 2003 | -Investigation consultants were appointed and the investigation organization was divided between units for execution and those for management -The Real-Name System for National Tax Administration was launched to prevent under-taxation |
Sep. 2003 | -The NTS began to circulate e-mail newsletters in an effort to improve communication with taxpayers |
Nov. 2003 | -The NTS Call Center was expanded and reorganized into the National General Tax Call Center |
June 2004 | -The NTS began to post public announcements on the basic goals and criteria of tax investigation in advance |
Oct. 2004 | -Lists of large-scale, chronic delinquent taxpayers was released -Data provided by financial institutions began to be used to check delinquent taxpayers’ assets and decide appropriate actions |
2003-2005 | -Corporate accounts for entertaining guests were now required to disclose the real names of the persons involved -The range of tax items available for online reporting was expanded -The System for the Integrated Management of Tax Representative Information was set up to encourage tax representatives’ active participation in online reporting |
March 2005 | -The Open Tax Administration Council was organized to hear taxpayers’ opinions |
2005 | -Resources and capabilities were concentrated on restraining real estate speculation and stabilizing property values -Key issues on the policy agenda, including the cash receipt system and the general real estate tax, were implemented (accompanied by the necessary organizational, human, and technological resources) -Principles of taxation were made more neutral to apply equally to Korean and non-Korean businesses |
Oct. 2005 | -The taxation system for self-employed persons earning high levels of income was reformed to render a fairer overall distribution of tax burdens |
2006-present | -Innovations are still being made in tax investigation operations |
-Efforts are also being made to encourage taxpayers themselves to report and pay taxes in good faith | |
-The “Know Your Taxes” campaign was launched and an ombudsmen system was introduced to enhance citizens’ watch over tax evasion | |
-Tax administration, overall, was made more taxpayer-oriented, with new channels of participation opened online | |
-Tax collection divisions at tax offices were abolished, along with 31 investigation divisions, and the human resources from those divisions were redirected to other posts | |
-General real estate taxes and the cash receipt system remain key issues on the policy agenda | |
-The 3rd OECD Meeting of National Tax Directors was held and the Seoul Declaration adopted |