Tax Reform Measures

[Anchor Lead]

The special advisory committee to President Moon Jae-in has decided to collect 15 trillion won in additional taxes over the next five years to secure funds for implementing the president's campaign pledges. The committee plans to do so by cutting tax exemptions for conglomerates and high-income earners.

[Pkg]

Creating 810,000 jobs in the public sector, raising basic pension and military service members' wages, providing childcare subsidies...Those are the campaign pledges of the new administration, and each of them costs trillions of won to implement. The special advisory committee to the president has decided to invest 178 trillion won over the next five years, as had been promised during the presidential campaign. This means 15 trillion won more must be collected in public taxes than was initially planned, or three trillion won a year. The committee plans to secure the funds by cutting tax exemptions. Last year, tax exemptions worth 12 trillion won were provided to conglomerates, high-income earners and major shareholders. The committee says that by reducing such tax benefits and raising taxes on unreported income and non-tax revenues it can secure the necessary funds without raising public taxes immediately. In the second half of the year, the committee plans to set up a special fiscal policy committee to discuss an increase in corporate taxes and an overhaul in energy taxes.