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Korea, China to enhance taxation collaboration
The National Tax Service (NTS) Commissioner Kim Chang-ki, left, poses with China’s State Taxation Administration Commissioner Hu Jinglin before their meeting in Beijing, Dec. 5. Courtesy of NTS
The National Tax Service (NTS) held its 26th annual Korea-China Commissioners’ Meeting in Beijing, China, last week after a four-year break, to exchange opinions and enhance collaborative efforts on major tax issues.
According to the tax office, the meeting on Dec. 5 with China’s State Taxation Administration dealt with the current tax administrative challenges of each country and ways to facilitate the effectiveness of the Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) and Advanced Pricing Arrangement (APA) to resolve double taxation issues for companies entering each market.
Additionally, the commissioners pledged to provide active taxpayer support and create a tax environment conducive to businesses making stable investments and focusing on management activities.
Both tax authorities acknowledged the increasing importance of taxpayer-centric tax administration amid heightened economic uncertainty. They shared experiences in improving taxpayer convenience and supporting the economy in their respective countries.
The NTS presented recent progress regarding digital innovation, such as changes to Korea's HomeTax system and the introduction of an AI tax assistant service, along with various tax support measures for small and medium-sized enterprises including corporate tax deductions and an exemption advice program.
Furthermore, both commissioners emphasized the importance of actively addressing the issue of double taxation for taxpayers. They shared the operation status of the MAP and APA systems between the two countries and discussed future directions for development.
The NTS Commissioner Kim Chang-ki proposed various methods to swiftly resolve double taxation issues including exchanges of position papers before the MAP and APA discussions and the expansion of both face-to-face and virtual meetings. In addition, commissioners agreed to activate working-level exchanges to strengthen tax cooperation between the two countries by sharing experiences and knowledge.
Prior to the commissioners’ meeting, Kim had a meeting with representatives of Korean companies in China, where he listened to their challenges and suggestions and delivered them to STA. He also requested active tax administrative support for Korean companies and people.
“We will continue to engage in active tax diplomacy, sharing Korea's tax innovation practices with the international community and providing active support to maintain the competitiveness of overseas Korean companies from a taxation perspective,” the tax office noted.