NTS to investigate 50,000 businessmen on suspicion of tax evasion

A total of 50,000 private businessmen, including lawyers, doctors and entertainers, will face the tax authorities¡¯ intensive probe for their possible tax evasion.

The National Tax Service (NTS) announced a package of comprehensive measures for fair taxation Tuesday at a meeting of chiefs of tax offices in the country.

Noting that the NTS will instead restrain its tax probe on activities of general enterprises taking into account the difficult economic condition, Ahn Jung-Nam, administrator of the NTS, said, ¡°In particular, small- and medium-sized companies and venture firms will be free from the tax investigation for a certain period unless they are suspected of evading taxes.¡±

The targets of the intensive tax probe:

*8,140 professional businessmen, including lawyers, plastic surgeons, dentists, obstetricians, ophthalmologists, dermatologists, herbalists and entertainers

*390 businessmen working in the fields of saunas, skin and beauty shops, and golf practice fields

*2,900 businessmen in institutes for school entrance, arts and physical education, and drivers

*19,700 merchants at large clothing shops and electronics stores

*10,560 owners of restaurants, entertainment houses and hotels

*790 building lessors

*2,960 retail and wholesale distributors

*5,020 individual-like corporations.

The total is 50,710.

The NTS plans to gather details of the data related to the consumption level of the businessmen by dispatching an auditing team. Also, it will conduct a probe on those who are suspected of receiving taxes back again in an irregular means or engaging in irregular transactions of tax bills through the national tax integrated computerized network.

To crack down on large enterprises for possible improper inheritance or outflow of foreign currency:

The NTS also will crack down on inheritances and gift activities by owners of large enterprises through irregular means, including the transactions of new types of corporate bonds.

Under the judgment that illegal outflows of foreign currencies are expected to surge this year due to the deregulation of foreign exchange transactions, the NTS will make all-out efforts to prevent such acts.

In particular, it will conduct an in-depth investigation on the business activities that cause outflow of foreign currencies through exports of goods at low prices or imports at high prices after establishing ghost companies or funds in such tax refuges as Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Virgin Irelands.