Well, only for foreigners, although I believe its not so bad for the Koreans either. As this may be part of a couple of posts about taxes, I am reminded of a quote I have seen a couple of times during tax season in America:
"It's income tax time again, Americans: time to gather up those receipts, get out those tax forms, sharpen up that pencil, and stab yourself in the aorta."
-- Dave Barry
As an American, there is no worse time than income tax time. Sure, there's the possibility of getting a nice tax refund, but there's also the looming possibility that somehow you could owe the government even more of your hard earned pennies. Some people just pay through the nose to find themselves an amazing accountant that might do some creative accounting and find you the most tax breaks. Some might take it to an online program and just hope they get the basics done. Others, those poor souls that might find this fun, might actually try and do it themselves. I myself, went the online route the past few years.
However, none of that is an issue in Korea. As an employee in the fine country, I do pay Korean taxes every month of about 3-4% of my paycheck. In January the country goes to work and figures out who should get what back. In February everyone receives their refund in their first paycheck. It is just that simple. Foreigners generally receive about 40% of the taxes they've paid so far back, and Koreans, while they don't receive much, don't generally owe either. Apparently I paid about $360 in taxes in the three months that I got paid in 2007, and received about $120 today. Can't really complain about those numbers, now can ya?
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