Executives from SM Entertainment pushed back on Monday against allegations of tax evasion, after the label was ordered to pay the South Korean government more than $10 million in additional fees.
"We paid an additional 10.2 billion won [$10 million] in corporate taxes due to a difference in the foreign tax credit for income made at SM Japan," read an official statement from SM Entertainment, according to the publication eNEWS.
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The label's statement attempted to depict the development as a positive one.
"There may be some corporate tax burdens temporarily, but through this opportunity, we were able to set up a foundation to create a more secure global business," the SM statement read.
"We have now clearly solved the issue regarding foreign tax credit and tax rates."
The outstanding taxes, which were revealed by a federal audit, are not evidence the label was evading the government, according to SM's statement.
"With the results of the National Tax Service investigation, it has been revealed that SM Entertainment did not evade any taxes concerning overseas businesses and overseas performance income," the statement read.
"It has been revealed that suspicions regarding overseas businesses and property are baseless."
According to a report back in March in the Korean publication Segye, SM executives had been allegedly hiding millions of dollars from the government in oversees investments. Within a week of the report, 30 personnel from Korea's National Tax Service reportedly descended on SM Entertainment's Seoul headquarters, forgoing the standard 10-day notice.
The artists on the SM Entertainment roster include Girls' Generation, EXO, Super Junior, SHINee and TVXQ.
According to SM executives, the additional taxes signify the dawn of a new era at the label.
"Through this tax audit, we will continue to build our company, the foremost entertainment company in Korea, as a transparent and exemplary business," the statement read.
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