PPP Criticizes Tax Reform Plan as Punitive, Urges Full Review

▲ People Power Party Floor Leader Jung Jeom-sik speaks during a floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 11th.

The People Power Party (PPP) criticized President Lee Jae-myung's directive for a full review of the Individual Comprehensive Asset Management Account (ISA) revision and the "anti-stock price suppression act" included in the tax reform plan as a "hasty reversal," while urging the government to also come up with reasonable alternatives regarding real estate taxes.

During a floor strategy meeting at the National Assembly today (the 11th), PPP Floor Leader Jung Jeom-sik stated, "The Lee Jae-myung administration and the Democratic Party of Korea have formalized a reexamination of the hastily crafted tax reform plan. What the People Power Party demands is to enhance policy consistency and trust in the government."

Floor Leader Jung demanded, "Now that a decision has been made to reexamine the hastily announced tax reform plan, prompt measures should be established to resolve chronic unsold housing in regional areas. The regional real estate market is in a completely different situation from the Seoul metropolitan area, and imposing regulations based on the same standards is tantamount to killing the regions."

Rep. Seo Il-jun, the opposition secretary of the National Assembly's National Policy Committee, also pointed out during the meeting, "Following the announcement of the tax reform plan, fear of the neutralization of lease renewal rights is spreading among tenants in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. The Democratic Party leadership has also raised the need to modify real estate taxes. This is proof that the policy was prepared without sufficient review."

Rep. Jeong Dong-man, the opposition secretary of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, who also attended the meeting, emphasized, "Real estate loans are regulated, transactions are regulated, and now even tax hikes. The real estate market can never be stabilized through suppression-oriented methods. Rather than stifling demand with taxes and regulations, the government should pave the way for the private sector to actively build homes and for citizens to secure their own homes."

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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