▲ Democratic Party of Korea Lawmaker Kim Young-bae
Seoul-area lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea have agreed to pursue party-government consultations focusing on protecting single-home owners and actual homebuyers regarding real estate tax reform plans.
Lawmaker Kim Young-bae, head of the Democratic Party's Seoul chapter, told reporters at the National Assembly on Thursday (November 5) following a meeting of Seoul-area lawmakers, "A general consensus was formed that we should provide stronger protection for ordinary single-home owners and actual homebuyers."
Kim said, "There were points raised that actual homebuyers, such as young adults and newly married couples, are struggling with lump-sum lease (jeonse) and monthly rents, requiring countermeasures," adding, "We agreed to organize agenda items related to taxes and housing supply and push for party-government consultations as much as possible by this weekend."
However, regarding a plan to raise the basic deduction threshold for the comprehensive real estate holding tax to 1.4 billion won based on public announced prices, without differentiation between owner-occupiers and non-resident owners, lawmakers failed to reach a conclusion due to differences in opinion.
Kim said, "Concerns vary slightly by district, so it is difficult to share a finalized decision," adding, "Because some positive results (of the tax reform plan) are showing, we will review whether easing is necessary if it helps better realize the government's policy intentions."
Regarding the government's push to scale back the special deduction for long-term homeownership, he explained, "Opinions differ among lawmakers, and this is an area where further collection of feedback is needed."
The government previously announced a tax reform plan to raise the basic comprehensive real estate tax deduction threshold for owner-occupying single-home owners from 1.2 billion won to 1.4 billion won based on public announced prices, while reducing it from 1.2 billion won to 900 million won for non-resident single-home owners.
Following strong pushback centered on Seoul-area lawmakers, the government decided to maintain the comprehensive real estate tax basic deduction for non-resident single-home owners at 1.2 billion won.
In connection with this, Kim appeared on BBS Radio on Thursday morning and said, "The prevailing majority view is to set the deduction amount equally at 1.4 billion won for single-home owners in terms of comprehensive real estate tax, regardless of whether they reside in the property or not," adding, "There is also an opinion asking whether it is really necessary to reduce the special deduction for long-term ownership all the way to zero."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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