Taxes on intra-group deals reach nearly 190bn won

South Korea's tax agency said Tuesday that the amount of taxes declared by individuals involved in "intra-group trading" has reached nearly 190 billion won (US$177.4 million). Intra-group business deals have been cited as a secret measure employed by owners of conglomerates to transfer their wealth to their family without paying due taxes by awarding them business contracts with favorable terms. Many conglomerates in the country are family owned, with many affiliates of a group headed by family members. In late 2011, the government revised laws that allow for imposing taxes on individuals and corporations benefiting from engaging in such transactions. The National Tax Service (NTS) received voluntary taxation reports from those subject to the changed laws in late July, beginning the process of what would be the first taxation in connection with intra-group transactions. According to the results announced by the state tax agency, the amount of taxes that has been voluntarily declared came to 185.9 billion won. The amount is much higher than about 100 billion won in additional revenue that the NTS had earlier expected to collect. The NTS said that a total of 10,324 people voluntarily declared their taxes. This means that their per-capita tax payment on intra-group transactions would reach about 18 million won.