SEOUL, South Korea – Amidst the escalating revenue competition among "political YouTubers" during the 12.12 military coup and impeachment proceedings, tax authorities have initiated an investigation into their alleged tax evasion. This move has garnered significant attention, particularly in light of the controversy surrounding far-right political YouTubers who were accused of inciting the occupation of the Seoul Western District Court on January 19th.
On March 6th, the National Tax Service (NTS) announced, "We are conducting monitoring based on accumulated analysis data of political YouTubers, and are identifying concealed revenue structures and fund flows through various taxation infrastructures, including Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) data, foreign exchange transaction data, and investigative agency data." They further stated, "If specific allegations of tax evasion are detected, we plan to respond rigorously through tax investigations."
The NTS emphasized that they will closely examine various revenue sources of YouTubers, including Super Chats, personal account donations, sales revenue disguised as secondhand transactions, and undisclosed advertising revenue from influencers.
During the Western District Court incident, some YouTubers reportedly raised millions of won in donations through live broadcasts, and during the impeachment proceedings, they were known to generate tens of millions of won in daily revenue. These individuals tended to produce increasingly sensational video content to attract subscribers and secure donations.
Internet broadcasting hosts (BJs) or creators who disclose their account numbers in YouTube videos and receive donations are required to register as businesses and pay comprehensive income tax if they generate revenue through continuous and repetitive video content production. Revenue from Super Chats or "star balloons" is also subject to taxation.
The NTS has also launched tax investigations into 17 individuals, including three "cyber wreckers" who engage in similar behavior to political YouTubers, nine "Excel broadcast" BJs who produce sexually suggestive content, and five operators of deepfake-exploiting gambling websites, all suspected of tax evasion.
Popular Excel broadcast BJ "A" allegedly reduced their income by falsely paying high appearance fees to other BJs and receiving them back, while also deducting personally used "star balloons" as expenses, evading taxes and failing to pay value-added tax. Excel broadcasts refer to internet broadcasts that induce donation competition by having BJs undress or display donor rankings on the screen like an Excel document, depending on the number of "star balloons" purchased by viewers.
Cyber wrecker "B," who earns revenue by engaging in sensational exposés, unethical remarks, and spreading false information on YouTube, allegedly underreported advertising revenue received in dollars from Google and Facebook, and used the evaded income to purchase luxury apartments or pay for business lease deposits. They are also suspected of evading taxes by charging personal expenses, such as luxury goods, furniture, suits, and dermatology treatments, to business credit cards.
[Copyright (c) Global Economic Times. All Rights Reserved.]
