According to the latest report, the Korean National Tax Service (NTS) has launched a large-scale tax investigation of Intel’s Korean branch. The NTS previously said it had launched an in-depth tax investigation into a multinational company after discovering allegations of tax evasion.
In late February, NTS dispatched officials from the International Transactions Investigation Bureau of the Seoul Regional Taxation Bureau to investigate allegations that Intel was suspected of tax evasion by disguising its office as a representative office or concealing its permanent establishment in South Korea.
According to Korean law, if an international company does not have a permanent establishment in Korea or only provides simple business support services, it is not obliged to pay corporate tax in Korea, but the National Tax Service believes that the Intel Korea Representative Office actually operates as a “permanent establishment”, conducts various businesses in accordance with the instructions of its U.S. headquarters.
