National Tax Service to probe into SM Entertainment's books amid tax-evasion allegations

The Seoul-based South Korean government authority responsible for the smooth functioning of the taxation process in the country, namely the National Tax Service, is reportedly doing an extensive investigation into SM Entertainment's books. SM Entertainment's tax controversy, as per a report on KoreaTimes, started with the tax authority looking for transactional anomalies in the SM Entertainment's books. The same took a dramatic turn after the central authorities ordered a page-by-page, figure-by-figure analysis after a handful of government officials suspected that SM Entertainment's staff members may have carried out acts of tax evasion. As per a report on PinkVilla which talks about SM Entertainment's Tax Controversy, the talent management film/production company is liable for paying a penalty equivalent of 18 million US dollars due to the same.

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What else did the reports say

As per the very same reports mentioned above reports, the transactions made by SM Entertainment's founder/Principal Producer, Lee Soo-man through the accounts of his company are the articles of main interest. However, when approached by the officials of KoreaTimes, the company denied the rumours and said that it is nothing but a routine audit, which is happening for the first time in six years. But, the report implied that Tax Evasion may be a possibility as National Tax Service's bureau in charge, who majorly looks into the books of the companies that are suspected of tax evasion by the government, is on the case. More details regarding the same will be revealed as and when they are made available by the authorities.

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About SM Entertainment:

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SM Entertainment is one of Asia's largest Media conglomerate groups that is involved in activities such as talent acquisition, production, artist training and management, to name a few. The company has been in operation for nearly 27 years now, as of this writing. SM Entertainment's client roster involves the likes of the well-known K-pop boy band, EXO, NCT Dream and SuperM, to name a few. SM Entertainment's clientele, in addition to musical artists and bands, even comprises of various actors who have been seen in various popular K-Dramas that are available for viewing on streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Viki Rakuten.

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