S. Korea to catch tax dodgers by info-sharing

SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is seeking to catch tax dodgers by signing information-sharing agreements with foreign countries that might be used by South Korean nationals and businesses as tax havens, the government said Thursday.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said it signed provisional pacts with Samoa,
the Cook Islands and the Bahamas in 2009, and is seeking their ratification this
year.
"The three pacts require due administrative process by signatories, and a formal
agreement needs to be signed, but they should go into effect within the year," an
official said, adding that similar arrangements are being sought with Bermuda,
the Cayman Islands and Panama.
"If such agreements are reached, Seoul will be able to ferret out people who try
to dodge taxes at home by shipping their money abroad," he said.
Many tax havens in the Caribbean and the Pacific do not levy capital gains,
income or inheritance taxes.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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