Tax office launches second probe to catch tax dodgers

South Korea's tax office said Wednesday that it has launched a second round of investigations on real estate speculators who are suspected of not paying their dues as part of the government's drive to curb price hikes in the local property market.

The National Tax Service said it is looking into 302 people who bought and sold lucrative reconstructed apartments in the Gangnam district of Seoul, which has been in the center of the overheated property boom.

The agency said it will check all financial records of the suspects and even their family members.
 

The latest probe is a follow-up of the NTS' ongoing investigation that kicked off in August into 286 multiple-home owners and wealthy people who allegedly falsified housing transaction information to evade transfer income taxes.

Earlier, the Seoul government announced stricter measures to stabilize the country's overheated housing market around the capital city of Seoul and its surrounding areas. It imposed a ban on bank loans given to multiple-home owners and forbid people from reselling apartment purchase rights, along with the levying of higher taxes on real estate transactions.

"The NTS will scrutinize every aspect of tax-evading allegations in regards to real estate transactions," the NTS said in an official release. "If we detect any offenses, we will collect appropriate taxes." (Yonhap)