The Seoul Metropolitan Government this year issued about 3.86 million individual resident tax bills totaling 22.1 billion won ($15.6 million). Although Seoul's population fell by 24,000 over the past year, the number of tax bills actually increased by 20,000 — a trend attributed to a rise in one- and two-person households that has pushed up the total number of households even as the overall population shrinks.
The city said Sunday it had mailed out the bills — covering resident tax on individuals, including local education tax — to heads of household registered in Seoul as of July 1 and to foreign nationals who have resided in the city for at least one year. The payment period runs through Aug. 31.
Of the total, about 3.7 million bills worth 21.1 billion won were sent to Korean nationals, while about 160,000 bills worth 1 billion won went to foreign residents. Each household owes 6,000 won in total — 4,800 won in resident tax plus 1,200 won in local education tax.
Compared with July last year, Seoul's registered population as of May this year fell by 24,000, but the total number of households grew as one- and two-person households increased. As a result, the number of individual resident tax bills issued this year exceeded last year's 3.84 million.
By district, Songpa-gu, Seoul's most populous borough, topped the list with 257,794 bills worth 1.5 billion won, followed by Gangseo-gu (228,038 bills), Gangnam-gu (217,738), Gwanak-gu (211,128) and Gangdong-gu (197,490). Among foreign residents, Chinese-language notices accounted for the largest share at 99,623, followed by English at 41,076, Vietnamese at 12,006, Mongolian at 3,627 and Japanese at 3,217.
Corporations with business premises in Seoul and self-employed individuals whose value-added tax base last year was 80 million won or more must also file and pay the business premises portion of the resident tax by Aug. 31.
The business premises levy totals 78.3 billion won across about 780,000 cases, including local education tax — corporations account for about 400,000 cases worth 52 billion won, and self-employed individuals for about 380,000 cases worth 26.3 billion won. The base tax is 50,000 won for self-employed individuals and between 50,000 won and 200,000 won for corporations; premises exceeding 330 square meters are subject to an additional charge of 250 won per square meter.
Residents can pay through Seoul's local tax internet payment system (ETAX), the mobile app STAX, simple payment apps, dedicated bank accounts, QR codes, bank ATMs or unmanned payment kiosks. Those who have not paid close to the deadline may receive a reminder via KakaoTalk. The city is also sending multilingual tax notices in eight languages — including Chinese, English and Vietnamese — alongside the bills for foreign residents.
"We urge residents to pay their resident tax on time to avoid penalties such as surcharges," said Shin Sang-yoon, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's tax division.
ken@heraldcorp.com
