While total national tax arrears have exceeded 116 trillion won, data shows that more than 21 trillion won in late payment penalties have been levied since 2021 before tax offices even issued formal tax notices.

According to data provided by the National Tax Service to Representative Kang Min-guk of the People Power Party on the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee on October 11, cumulative national tax arrears stood at 116.031 trillion won as of the end of June this year.

The number of overdue cases reached 5,642,792.

Arrears have grown steadily each year, rising from 99.8607 trillion won in 2021 to surpass 100 trillion won at 102.514 trillion won in 2022, followed by 106.0597 trillion won in 2023, 110.731 trillion won in 2024, and 114.0969 trillion won last year.

By tax item as of June, value-added tax accounted for the largest share at 33.4431 trillion won.

This was followed by income tax at 27.4305 trillion won, capital gains tax at 13.3871 trillion won, corporate tax at 11.298 trillion won, inheritance and gift tax at 3.3681 trillion won, and comprehensive real estate holding tax at 1.744 trillion won.

Amid the rising tax arrears, the scale of late payment surcharges is also on an upward trend.

Cumulative pre-notice late payment surcharges—which accrue from the day after the filing and payment deadline until the day before the tax notice is issued if taxes are unpaid—totaled 21.6261 trillion won from 2021 through July of this year.

The number of cases in which these surcharges were levied reached 24,141,504.

Taxes such as income tax, corporate tax, and value-added tax are items that taxpayers must report and pay themselves.

If these taxes are unpaid or underpaid by the statutory payment deadline, such late payment surcharges are automatically applied even before tax offices issue a formal tax notice.

The amount levied grew from 3.6552 trillion won in 2021 to 3.8202 trillion won in 2022, and 4.1614 trillion won in 2023.

After dropping to 3.8104 trillion won in 2024, it rose again to 4.1017 trillion won last year.

Newly levied surcharges through July of this year were provisionally tallied at 2.077 trillion won.

Post-notice late payment surcharges—which are applied when taxes are not paid by the payment deadline specified in the tax office's notice—are also increasing.

The levied amount stood at 702.1 billion won in 2021, but surpassed 1 trillion won to reach 1.1329 trillion won in 2022.

It subsequently climbed to 1.6166 trillion won in 2023 and 2.1375 trillion won in 2024, reaching 2.6566 trillion won last year.

The amount levied from January to July of this year was 1.7359 trillion won.

Representative Kang Min-guk pointed out that "the sharp surge in national tax arrears and the scale of surcharges imposed for unpaid taxes reflects the prolonged slump in domestic consumption while laying bare the limitations in the scale and methods of tax collection by the National Tax Service."

He further advised that "since national tax arrears are not issues that resolve themselves with the passage of time, the National Tax Service needs to shift its policy paradigm toward managing the growth rate of arrears and surcharges rather than focusing on levying penalties, and formulate substantive countermeasures."