The
National Tax Service was chosen to be the 2008 recipient of “Globalized Partner”
award, the highest recognition awarded at the third annual EU-Korea Award night
held on December 10, 2008. The European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (EUCCK)
and its members presented the Globalized Partner award to the NTS for its contribution
to strengthening Korea-EU economic cooperation by helping to a business-friendly
tax environment and by setting global standards of taxation.
Highlight
of NTS Performance for 2008
Under
Mr. Han’s leadership, the NTS made great strides in the past year, particularly
in its efforts to engage the foreign business community in tax administrative
policy-making.
Foreign
company feedback was fully reflected in the administration of taxes, some almost
immediately. Taking comments received at meetings with EUCCK and other foreign
chambers of commerce, the NTS extended the notice given prior to an audit from
the previous 10 days to 15 for foreign companies. It also decided on a wider
scope of financial documents as allowable for companies to receive deductions
for consulting fee.
A
Committee for the Review of International Tax Laws was launched to improve domestic
tax rules in accordance with global taxation standards. Composed mainly of external
tax experts, the job of the committee is to identify and remove unreasonableness
from the Korean tax code.
The
advance ruling system was adopted to help taxpayers achieve certainty in tax
matters. Various tax information booklets, such as the Foreign Taxpayers’ Guide
to Korean Taxes, Green Book on Audit Procedure were published in English to
help resolve frequently asked questions.
Six
sigma quality is applied to make tax assessments more accurate, and the Voice
of Customer (VOC) system is in place to listen to taxpayer complaints and transform
them into a foundation for directing administrative policies. The NTS was also
active in settling tax issues to give MNE tax certainty as early on as possible
by expediting MAP and APA processes. It continued to strengthen cooperation
with foreign tax administrations in a global effort to address aggressive tax
planning and the abuse of tax havens.
