21 YouTubers Tax Audited Last Year... Average 420 Million Won Imposed

[Financial News] It has been confirmed that the tax authorities conducted tax audits on 21 YouTubers last year. Some YouTubers earned billions in revenue but did not properly pay taxes, leading to criticism of a 'tax blind spot'.
On the 14th, according to data submitted by Democratic Party's Jeong Tae-ho, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee, from the National Tax Service, it was revealed that since 2019, the Regional Tax Office has conducted tax audits on 67 YouTubers.
Over the past six years, the total tax imposed on them amounted to 23.6 billion won, averaging 350 million won per YouTuber.
This includes not only the amount imposed on YouTuber income but also the tax imposed on income from all businesses operated by the entity.
By year, the number of tax audit targets increased significantly from a total of 22 from 2019 to 2022 to 24 in 2023, and 21 last year. The imposed tax also increased from a total of 5.6 billion won from 2019 to 2022 to 9.1 billion won in 2023 and 8.9 billion won last year. The average tax imposed per person last year exceeded 420 million won.
The actual tax imposed on YouTubers is estimated to be higher than the aggregated amount. This YouTuber tax audit result is a summary of investigations conducted by the Regional Tax Office. It is expected to be even more when including individual tax office investigations.
The National Tax Service also conducted tax audits this year on 9 related parties, including Excel broadcasting operation internet broadcasts, 5 deepfake-exploiting gambling sites, and 3 cyber leaker YouTube channels, totaling 17.
Excel broadcasting refers to a broadcast where the internet broadcast host (BJ) performs provocative dances, poses, etc., according to viewer sponsorship, and shows the sponsorship ranking by BJ in an Excel-like document, encouraging sponsorship competition. Some BJs earn over 10 billion won annually through this.
Cyber leakers refer to YouTubers who earn revenue by sensationally distorting others' incidents and accidents.
If YouTubers, BJs, creators, or other one-person broadcast content creators produce video content continuously and repeatedly and generate revenue from it, they must register as a business and report comprehensive income tax.
Donations such as Super Chat are also taxable. If the broadcast screen exposes a sponsorship account number under the name 'donation', 'voluntary subscription fee', etc., and receives money through account transfer, it all applies.


mirror@fnnews.com Kim Kyuseong Reporter