Many university students take on part-time jobs nowadays, the biggest reason is because they do not want to rely on monthly allowances from their parents. This year, there was an increase in minimum wage per hour from 6,470 won to 7,530 won. For those who have worked 60 hours or less in a month, 3.3 percent of it goes into taxes. On a yearly basis, parttime workers are given the chance to receive tax rebates in May. However, many people were not aware of it. In order to register for the return, all part-time workers are required to report the amount of taxation on income for the past two years to the National Tax Services. After one has registered, the 3.3 percent they paid is returned within two months. Additionally, those who missed their chance to receive tax rebates for the last two years are still eligible to register for return. National Tax Services also requests for information on the exact number of hours worked, salaries earned and the company one worked under in order to verify the tax received. Despite the large number of students taking on part-time jobs, most of them were unaware about the tax rebate they can receive during the month of May from their parttime jobs. Students in Ewha were no exception in their unawareness of this tax rebate. Furthermore, when a fellow student posted the news on tax returns available for part-time workers this month on Ewha’s online platform, Everytime, many students responded that they were uninformed on such service provided. “I didn’t even know there was a chance to receive tax rebates,” said Yu Jin, a freshman of the Department of English Language and Literature, who is currently doing six hours of part-time job a week. “I think it would be much better if employers notify employees about tax rebates as a lot of students don’t really know about the existence of this rebating system.” Likewise, the problem relates to workers’ rights. The social law states that employees have the rights to be provided insurance and be informed on information related to working hours, salaries and working environment. Nevertheless, employers rarely inform employees about the tax rebate they can receive. Additionally, starting from this year, National Tax Services announced that they will be introducing a new way of registration of income taxes which will be done through an automated audio response system (ARS). Previously, part-time workers could only register by personally visiting the nearest tax office or via the official website. The ARS system has decreased time consumption in registration process as it only takes a minute to complete. It has allowed easier access for workers and especially for students who do not have the time to visit the tax office or register online. “Rather than publicizing the tax rebates through news or newspapers, I believe it would be more effective to publicize this system through social platforms such as Facebook or Instagram where students can receive and accept information more easily,” Yu further commented about the current advertisement. She also continued about the new ARS system. “As I didn’t even know the existence of tax rebates, I think advertisement on ARS system is needed too. If the new ARS system on tax rebates is advertised, certainly a lot of people will try to receive tax rebates as the process is more simple and easier.” Furthermore, Yu commented that the government should step forward to inform students who do not know about the tax rebate. The coming tax rebate registration period for the year has already begun on May 1 and National Tax Services will receive registrations until May 31. 

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