The tax agency chief said Friday his office would investigate and levy taxes on a family whose daughter on a cable TV program showed off her exorbitantly expensive luxury goods that she
claimed she bought with untaxed "gift" money from her parents.
Immediately nicknamed "Korea's Paris Hilton" after her TV appearance earlier this week, Kim Kyung-ah, 24, boasted of her luxurious lifestyle and collection of rare items from top brands. She said she doesn't earn a penny but lives on allowance from her parents.
After the show, netizens hounded the National Tax Service (NTS)'s Web site, demanding its officials audit Kim's parents, whom they accused of lavishing their daughter with extravagant gifts without paying due gift taxes on amounts that exceed the exemption limit.
There is no legal limit on how much parents can give to their children, but NTS officials said that technically, any gift valued over 30 million won given over the course of a 10-year period is subject to taxation under the law. During her appearance on the TV program, Kim displayed a car, apparel and jewelry worth 400 million won (US$340,000).
Although it is hard to trace the circumstances under which Kim's parents gave her the money, if what she said on television is true, they can be
taxed, the officials said.
"Before starting a tax probe, we should first verify whether what she said on the show is true," Lee Hyun-dong, the NTS chief, told lawmakers at a parliamentary session.
"First, we will thoroughly investigate the case and then take action if Kim's parents are found to have given her the presents."