Ruling in favor of Korean Electronics Company with respect to Tax Withholding Assessment on Royalties Paid to an Irish Licensing Company

In representing a Korean electronics company with respect to one of the most highly debated issues in the recent years – the issue of beneficial ownership in the application of an international treaty - Lee & Ko’s tax team successfully led the tax tribunal to partially rule in favor of the taxpayer.  At the Tax Tribunal, our team petitioned against the tax authority’s tax withholding assessment at the rate of 22.5% and successfully reduced the assessment to 16.5%.  However, the primary issue in this case is whether the beneficial owner of the income is an Irish entity and a ruling on this issue is currently being litigated at the Suwon District Court.