"Government Bills Cannot Always Be Perfect"... Single-Homeowner Residence Distinction Likely to Be Revised

[Anchor]

President Lee Jae-myung stated during a Cabinet meeting, "We must acknowledge that government proposals cannot always be perfect." The Democratic Party, which is set to take over the government's tax reform bill, has signaled additional revisions.

Reporter Ha Jeongyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

President Lee made the remarks during yesterday's (September 1) Cabinet meeting—where the government's tax reform bill and budget proposals were deliberated and resolved—while calling for bipartisan cooperation from the ruling and opposition parties as the regular session of the National Assembly begins.

[President Lee Jae-myung: We must acknowledge that government proposals are not always right nor can they be perfect. If there are reasonable criticisms and suggestions, I hope they will be faithfully reflected in legislation and the budget without hesitation.]

The government's tax reform bill, which passed the Cabinet meeting yesterday, will now be submitted to the National Assembly to undergo full-scale review during the regular session that kicked off yesterday.

While the Democratic Party stated, "We agree with the intent of the government's tax reform bill to favor actual residents," it also took the stance that "strong consideration must be given to the fairness of taxation among single homeowners and the predictability of tax burdens as experienced by the public."

In particular, the party emphasized, "We will make additional supplementary adjustments for necessary matters, including a plan to not differentiate the basic comprehensive real estate holding tax deduction for single homeowners based on whether they reside in the home."

[Han Byung-do / Democratic Party Floor Leader: We will evaluate the positive aspects of the government's proposal and discuss in the National Assembly what else might be needed...]

As Party Leader Kim Min-seok previously made a public request to eliminate the distinction between resident and non-resident single homeowners, the government's comprehensive real estate holding tax basic deduction amount—which differentiates between 1.4 billion won for residents and 1.2 billion won for non-residents—is expected to be "revised in the direction of removing the differentiation."

In addition, the "abolition of the long-term holding special deduction for non-resident single homeowners," which Leader Kim characterized as "effectively a tax hike," is also likely to become a target for further revision.

A Democratic Party lawmaker representing a Seoul constituency told SBS, "It appears the government put considerable sincerity into gathering opinions within the party," but added, "Discussions will take place within the party on measures such as completely eliminating the distinction between resident and non-resident single homeowners and adjusting the raised fair market value ratio."

(Video Reported by Kim Yong-woo | Video Edited by Nam Il | Design by Han Heung-soo and Kim Ye-ji)

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