Interior ministry's tax arrears teams collect 41.4 billion won

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Monday that local government tax-arrears teams have collected 41.4 billion won ($30.7 million) from delinquent taxpayers since beginning nationwide operations in August, while directing struggling households toward welfare support.

The teams had surveyed 1.36 million delinquent taxpayers as of the end of September, of whom 330,000 paid what they owed. The collections amount to roughly four times the 10.4 billion won ($7.71 million) spent on labor costs through September.

The teams call and visit taxpayers to establish their financial situation and ability to pay. Those who can pay are encouraged to settle; those who cannot are referred to welfare, housing and employment services. The ministry said 787 households facing hardship were identified and connected to such support.

Local governments hired 2,029 people as field surveyors, above their target of 2,000, and are concentrating on taxpayers who owe less than 1 million won ($742). The ministry presented the hiring as an expansion of public jobs, with young jobseekers, people who left work for childbirth or child care, and retirees gaining counseling and field administration experience.

For taxpayers in temporary difficulty, the teams arranged installment payment plans for 20,340 people. For 22,526 with no assets or otherwise impossible to collect from, authorities suspended collection.

"The tax-arrears teams, in full operation nationwide since August, have collected 41.4 billion won in overdue taxes and, above all, found 787 vulnerable people in difficult circumstances and connected them to the welfare services they need — a meaningful result achieved by the teams working on the ground," Interior Minister Youn Ho-jung said.

A field surveyor in Busan's Dong District said the work brought its own rewards. "During the survey I met a resident who did not even have rice to eat, and it hurt," the surveyor said. "Seeing them receive rice right away through the administrative welfare center and get connected to the welfare services they needed, I felt a great sense of worth."

The nationwide rollout followed a plan adopted in February to spread the teams across the country, with each local government recruiting and running its own.

Youn said the ministry would keep listening to voices from the field with local governments and would not spare attention and support so that fair collection and inclusive tax administration can be realized.