Korea and Iran have agreed to strengthen cooperation on tax administration.

The heads of the national taxation authorities from Korea and Iran held their first bilateral meeting in Tehran on Feb. 7 to improve cooperation on tax administration between the two countries.

In the meeting, the two heads shared their views and opinions on the latest trends in tax administration, the management of foreign corporations, and the current status of tax administration support management. They agreed to create a friendlier, mutually cooperative environment for businesses and investors from both countries. The two chiefs also signed a memorandum of understanding for future cooperation and exchanges between Korean and Iranian tax authorities.

Under the agreement, the National Tax Service (NTS) of Korea will provide education about Korea’s "Neo Tax integrated system" (NTIS) for Iranian public officers in order to help Iran carry out reforms in its tax systems. The Korean tax authorities will also teach Iranian tax officers about direct taxes, income taxes and value-added taxes. Commissioner Lim also asked his Iranian counterpart to take an interest in providing support to tax administration in both countries.

This is the first time for an NTS commissioner to visit Iran. The visit was made in order to boost investment and exchanges between Korean and Iranian businesses and to build upon the bilateral summit meeting between Korean and Iranian heads of state that took place in May last year.

Iran is an 80-million-person market and is abundant with natural resources, such as natural gas, oil and copper. Korea is Iran’s fourth largest trading partner, while Iran is Korea’s 25th trading destination.

Korea has bolstered financial cooperation with Iran by sending a commercial attaché to Iran starting this year, and has categorized the country as one of Korea's "key strategic partner" countries.

By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photo: National Tax Service
arete@korea.kr