ID :
207464
Fri, 09/16/2011 - 02:04
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/207464
The shortlink copeid
Confidentiality of taxpayers
Korea Times
(Yonhap) - The comedian Kang Ho-dong's tax case raises two legal questions. One is whether he intentionally evaded paying tax. The second is whether the tax office has violated the confidentiality rule for taxpayers.
The iconic comedian paid about $700,000 in penalties for underreporting his income for the past three years. The Korean Tax Service is unlikely to file a criminal lawsuit against the former "ssireum" king. It means that Kang exaggerated his expenses to save tax. The practice does not mean intentional tax dodging.
Under the current law, a taxpayer is subject to a prosecutorial investigation when he or she evades paying $500,000 in a year. Kang is free from this rule. The tax office has the right to decide whether the underpaid tax is intentional or not. It seems to be leaning toward the view that his underreporting is not necessarily intentional.
The next question is the suspicion that the tax office violated the confidentiality rules. The current law prohibits the tax office from divulging information on taxpayers, including tax dodgers.
The Korea Taxpayers Union, a nongovernmental organization, plans to file a lawsuit against the tax office for leaking the information on Kang. The office is the only organization that keeps Kang's tax information. The NGO has a strong possibility of winning the litigation. Only identities of tax dodgers can be made public when the prosecution indicts them.
The NTS might justify the leak to raise public awareness on many high-income entertainers underreporting their income. This is not an excuse for justifying its noncompliance with the confidentiality rule.
Kang stepped down from the TV shows he was hosting after the revelation. Underreporting his income cannot be condoned enough to justify a comeback.
An angry citizen filed a lawsuit with the prosecution to criminalize Kang. Prosecutors are unable to initiate the probe on the case because the tax office has not filed a lawsuit.
Kang is not alone in encountering public embarrassment and humiliation for the leakage of their tax information. SK Chairman Chey Tae-won reportedly sustained more than $100 million in futures investments. Shipping magnet Kwon Hyuk purportedly evaded $400 million in tax payments. Without tips from the tax office, this information would not have come out.
The tax office has been careless in protecting the privacy of taxpayers. Before Korea joined the OECD in 1996, it annually published the list of the top 50 taxpayers. The publication was an embarrassment to the honest taxpayers. At the OECDs' urging, it ceased the practice.
The office should abide by the law and the OECD confidentiality codes. This is also critical for foreign investors.
Tax dodgers are criminals. Their avoidance forces others to pay more than are due. Without honest tax payment, no government can run the country. However, no taxpayer should face the end of their career or public life until they are indicted for tax evasion.
(Yonhap) - The comedian Kang Ho-dong's tax case raises two legal questions. One is whether he intentionally evaded paying tax. The second is whether the tax office has violated the confidentiality rule for taxpayers.
The iconic comedian paid about $700,000 in penalties for underreporting his income for the past three years. The Korean Tax Service is unlikely to file a criminal lawsuit against the former "ssireum" king. It means that Kang exaggerated his expenses to save tax. The practice does not mean intentional tax dodging.
Under the current law, a taxpayer is subject to a prosecutorial investigation when he or she evades paying $500,000 in a year. Kang is free from this rule. The tax office has the right to decide whether the underpaid tax is intentional or not. It seems to be leaning toward the view that his underreporting is not necessarily intentional.
The next question is the suspicion that the tax office violated the confidentiality rules. The current law prohibits the tax office from divulging information on taxpayers, including tax dodgers.
The Korea Taxpayers Union, a nongovernmental organization, plans to file a lawsuit against the tax office for leaking the information on Kang. The office is the only organization that keeps Kang's tax information. The NGO has a strong possibility of winning the litigation. Only identities of tax dodgers can be made public when the prosecution indicts them.
The NTS might justify the leak to raise public awareness on many high-income entertainers underreporting their income. This is not an excuse for justifying its noncompliance with the confidentiality rule.
Kang stepped down from the TV shows he was hosting after the revelation. Underreporting his income cannot be condoned enough to justify a comeback.
An angry citizen filed a lawsuit with the prosecution to criminalize Kang. Prosecutors are unable to initiate the probe on the case because the tax office has not filed a lawsuit.
Kang is not alone in encountering public embarrassment and humiliation for the leakage of their tax information. SK Chairman Chey Tae-won reportedly sustained more than $100 million in futures investments. Shipping magnet Kwon Hyuk purportedly evaded $400 million in tax payments. Without tips from the tax office, this information would not have come out.
The tax office has been careless in protecting the privacy of taxpayers. Before Korea joined the OECD in 1996, it annually published the list of the top 50 taxpayers. The publication was an embarrassment to the honest taxpayers. At the OECDs' urging, it ceased the practice.
The office should abide by the law and the OECD confidentiality codes. This is also critical for foreign investors.
Tax dodgers are criminals. Their avoidance forces others to pay more than are due. Without honest tax payment, no government can run the country. However, no taxpayer should face the end of their career or public life until they are indicted for tax evasion.
