New tax chief vows to root out evasion

The newly appointed National Tax Service Commissioner Lim Hwan-soo pledged to rectify the tax-dodging practices of conglomerates and upper-bracket taxpayers.

“We vow to chase the nation’s habitual tax delinquents to collect all overdue taxes,” Lim said in his inaugural speech on Thursday. “Only then can we operate a fair tax administration system for all.”

The commissioner also revealed his plans for streamlining the central NTS organization and increasing the number of field workers in local tax offices to raise productivity. 

“I will downsize the central NTS and the Seoul Regional National Tax Service office, and expand the human resource pool at our local tax offices,” Lim said.

He also said that communication with taxpayers is crucial in implementing fair and thorough tax probes.

Further, he promised to solidify the authority of the senior officials at the tax service, saying their expertise is much valued.

“The department directors and chiefs who have been serving the NTS for 20 to 30 years are top professionals,” he said.

“I will boldly entrust them with the commissioner’s authorities and responsibilities.”

Before taking the chief post at the Seoul tax office in 2013, Lim was a sixth-term tax investigation director. He was appointed in July to succeed Kim Duk-joong, whose term ended on Tuesday.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)