CreatripTeam

Korean small business owners complain they are taxed on the displayed amount of mobile gift vouchers (gifticon) even though they receive a lower settlement after discounts and platform fees. Gifticons are legally treated as securities, so cash receipts are issued using the voucher’s face value (e.g., ₩23,000), but merchants often get about ₩19,000 after platform discounts and 5–8% fees. This mismatch causes inflated VAT and income tax reporting — effectively taxing ‘phantom’ revenue. The National Tax Service says VAT should be based on actual receipts, but current receipt systems and legal classifications create practical gaps. The mobile gift voucher market has grown to about ₩10 trillion, yet tax rules remain based on older offline voucher norms, prompting calls to update tax treatment to reflect real settlements and platform practices. (gifticon: mobile gift voucher)