Suwon City Raises Registration License Tax Rate by 50% for 2014 Licenses

Effective January 1, 2014, Suwon City's registration license tax rate for license-related taxes was increased by 50%.

Following amendments to the Local Tax Law and its enforcement ordinance, registration license tax rates by category will each be raised and applied by 50% beginning with licenses issued from January 1, 2014.

License-related registration license tax is divided into Categories 1 through 5 based on the type of license or the scale of the licensed business, such as business facility area and number of employees.

Under this amendment, in accordance with regulations for cities with populations of 500,000 or more, Suwon City will adjust Category 1 from 45,000 won to 67,500 won, Category 2 from 36,000 won to 54,000 won, Category 3 from 27,000 won to 40,500 won, Category 4 from 18,000 won to 27,000 won, and Category 5 from 12,000 won to 18,000 won.

License-related registration license tax rates had remained unchanged for over 20 years since the last revision in 1991, resulting in decreased practical relevance and inequities such as cases where newly established or modified licenses were omitted from taxable subjects when other laws were enacted or amended. Taking comprehensive consideration of changes in socioeconomic conditions such as economic growth and inflation as well as taxpayers' capacity to pay, the rates were uniformly adjusted upward compared to current levels.

In addition, as part of this amendment, 45 new categories of taxable subjects were added, including passenger vehicle transportation franchise business licensing and logistics warehouse business registration, while 649 categories underwent reviews including deletions, modifications, and clarifications of the statutory basis or license types.