A retail business owner won the top prize in the Lotto lottery and received billions of won. He had enough money to pay his outstanding taxes, including hundreds of millions of won in comprehensive income tax, but he made a different choice: He transferred a large portion of his winnings to a family account and withdrew the rest in cash and checks, trying to avoid paying taxes until the end.

Mr. B, an unregistered loan shark, became a tax delinquent when he failed to pay his taxes after being questioned about missing income. However, he enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle, sending money to his children studying abroad and driving a luxury foreign car. He had managed the missing income in the name of his spouse, who had no income, and had been buying expensive houses and cars in his spouse’s name and sending money to his children.

Mr. C, an interior business owner, was under tax investigation for evading income such as construction payments, and when he expected to be charged a large amount of tax, he sold his apartment in a quick sale with the intention of avoiding compulsory collection. He then withdrew the entire amount of the sale price in cash, hid it, and closed his business.

The National Tax Service announced on the 23rd that it has begun tracing the assets of 557 high-value taxpayers (totaling KRW 337.8 billion in arrears) who have been evading forced collection or hiding their property despite having the ability to pay. They include 261 who have been hiding their assets in an unusual way and 296 who have been enjoying a luxurious life.

So far, the government has secured 10.3 billion won in tax arrears. A 211-square-meter house in the Seoul metropolitan area where Mr. D, a representative of a trading company, lives was searched and hundreds of luxury bags and shoes, such as Hermes and Chanel, purchased with corporate funds, and expensive foreign-made vehicles were sold to collect KRW 500 million. Through more than seven undercover searches, we checked the residence of Mr. E’s children and found 400 million won in cash in a personal safe hidden by tissues and blankets. He did not pay a large amount of capital gains tax after selling his land. He hid the entire amount, excluding bank loans토토사이트, by withdrawing it in dozens of cash installments, or gave it to his children.

“We will continue to pursue and collect the assets hidden by malicious large taxpayers to ensure tax justice,” said Kim Dong-il, head of the National Tax Service Legal Affairs Division. Last year, the NTA collected KRW 2.562 trillion in tax arrears through property tracing. This is a steady increase from KRW 226.8 billion in 2019. If the report leads to the recovery of the taxpayer’s hidden assets, the informant will receive a reward of up to KRW 3 billion.