Last week, the National Tax Service began a tax investigation into the signing bonus and salary that Oh Seung-hwan, a pitcher for the professional baseball team Samsung Lions, received while playing for Japan’s Hanshin Tigers from December 2013 to December 2015. There was a report that he was criticized for voluntarily canceling.
The reason why Oh Seung-hwan avoided the unfair tax bomb was revealed in detail on the 12th when the Board of Audit and Inspection released the results of an audit conducted by the National Tax Service on the adequacy of the operation of the taxpayer rights protection system, including the system to prevent incorrect taxation, and cases of violation of taxpayer rights during the tax investigation.
On April 10, 2019, the National Tax Service distributed a press release on a planned investigation with the contents of ‘Nationwide simultaneous tax investigation of 176 new and booming high-income business operators’, including YouTubers, celebrities, professional athletes, and doctors, and it is said that Oh Seung-hwan was among them.
The National Tax Service selected Oh Seung-hwan as a subject of an irregular tax investigation and began an investigation on the grounds that he was suspected of omitting comprehensive income tax reporting for the down payment and annual salary of approximately 8.3 billion won received while playing as a player for a Japanese professional baseball team from 2014 to 2015.
The reasons for being selected as a subject for an irregular tax audit are ① having an address in Korea with one’s parents, etc. ② having subscribed to and been paying into the national pension and personal pension savings before moving abroad ③ playing professional baseball in the U.S. Major League from 2016 to 2017 Based on the fact that he filed a comprehensive income tax return when he was active as a player, he is accused of failing to report the income he received from a Japanese club as a domestic resident.
When the tax investigation began, Oh Seung-hwan stayed in Japan for an average of 281 days a year while playing as a professional baseball player, most of his income was generated in Japan, and he had no real estate in Korea other than a car in his name, so he paid taxes as a non-resident who did not reside in Korea. He claimed there was no obligation.
In addition, according to the Korea-Japan tax agreement regulations, it is generally required to sign a 2-year contract with a Japanese club and reside abroad for more than 1 year. Since the country with a closer personal and economic relationship with the taxpayer is Japan, you can pay taxes as a resident in Japan. claimed.
In response to Oh Seung-hwan’s claim, on June 14, 2019, the National Tax Service’s Taxation Fact Judgment Advisory Committee determined that he was a non-resident in Korea based on the fact that he stayed in Japan for an average of 281 days per year while working as a professional baseball player in Japan, so he was not taxable because he had no tax payment obligations. We decided to do so and concluded the tax investigation.
Seung-Hwan Oh signed a two-year multi-year contract with Japan’s Hanshin Tigers in November 2013 and played as a Japanese professional baseball player from 2014 to 2015. He stayed in Korea for only 48 days in 2014 and 49 days in 2015, and did not have a job or job. Considering the status of the assets, it was difficult to be recognized as residing in the country, so it was not possible to be considered a resident under the Income Tax Act.
The Board of Audit and Inspection warned the National Tax Service to conduct a thorough review in advance when selecting professional athletes playing overseas for tax investigations in the future to avoid selecting non-residents who do not have tax obligations.
It may be argued that Korean citizens must unconditionally pay taxes domestically, but like Seung-Hwan Oh, a truly conscientious taxpayer is someone who complies with domestic and foreign tax laws and pays taxes in accordance with tax laws and principles.
[Star Tax Story] is a real-life story about the taxes of popular celebrities and sports stars vividly told by Park Young-beom, a veteran tax accountant from the National Tax Service.안전놀이터