The Lee Myung-bak administration’s decision to get tougher with tax evaders, both corporations and individuals, is part of its efforts to usher in a fair society. There is no doubt that the nation cannot ensure the fairness, transparency and accountability of every sector of our society without rooting out tax evasion.
Promoting fair and just taxation is essential to equal redistribution of wealth as well as a balanced budget. In reality money-chasing businesses and well-off individuals have long tried to pay less tax or even nothing. Everyone knows that dodging taxes is a grave crime driven by greed.
We hope that the Lee government will make great strides in its efforts against rampant tax evasion to make Korea a better place to live. We know that politicians and bureaucrats have been cozying up to tax-evading corporations and the rich. To be more precise, they sometimes have developed corrupt ties with evaders in return for bribes and illegal political donations.
Thus, it is important to break such ties and create a cleaner society. Past experience demonstrates that every president promised to promote taxation justice but to little avail. Even the ruling elite have frequently abused their crusade against tax evaders to tame owners of big conglomerates, or family-run chaebol, for political gains.
President Lee should not make the same mistake. He has to show zero tolerance to those attempting to bend the rules and use legal loopholes to evade taxes. To receive full public support for his fair society drive, Lee should no longer offer key government posts to his close aides whose integrity is questioned over their property speculation, draft-dodging or tax evasion.
His administration should make good on its promise to clamp down on chaebol owners’ bids to evade taxes in the process of transferring their wealth and management rights to their children. Tycoons have mobilized all means to evade inheritance and gift taxes. They have usually set up ghost firms to expedite wealth transfers to family members without paying due taxes. They have also maximized profits through unfair transactions among affiliated companies.
Such transactions are in violation of the fair competition rules, not to mention the tax law. The question is how the government should make chaebol abide by their tax obligations without inviting a backlash. This is easier said than done; but we really want the Lee administration to succeed in its fight against greedy and dishonest tax evaders.