"Government Proposals Cannot Always Be Perfect"... Revisions Expected for Single-Homeowner Residence Status

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President Lee Jae-myung remarked during a Cabinet meeting today (the 1st), "We must acknowledge that government proposals cannot always be perfect." As the government's tax reform bill heads to the National Assembly for review, the Democratic Party has signaled additional revisions.

Reporter Ha Jeongyeon has the details.

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President Lee made the remarks during today's Cabinet meeting, where the government's tax reform and budget bills were deliberated and resolved, while calling for bipartisan cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties as the regular session of the National Assembly begins.

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

Having passed today's Cabinet meeting, the government's tax reform bill has now been submitted to the National Assembly, where it will undergo full review during the regular session that kicked off today.

The Democratic Party stated, "While we agree with the intent of the government's tax reform to favor actual residents, strong consideration must also be given to the tax equity among single-homeowners felt by the public and the predictability of tax burdens."

In particular, the party emphasized, "We will additionally supplement necessary measures, including a plan to remove the distinction based on residency status for the basic comprehensive real estate holding tax exemption for single-homeowners."

[Han Byeong-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 not to distinguish between resident and non-resident single-homeowners, the government's comprehensive real estate holding tax basic deduction amount—which sets a distinction of 1.4 billion won for residents and 1.2 billion won for non-residents—is expected to be "revised in a direction without differentiation."

Furthermore, the "abolition of the long-term holding special deduction for non-resident single-homeowners," which Leader Kim categorized as "effectively a tax hike," is also likely to be subject to additional revision.

A Democratic Party lawmaker representing a district in Seoul told SBS, "It appears the government has shown considerable sincerity and gathered opinions within the party," while adding, "Discussions will take place within the party regarding measures such as completely eliminating the distinction between resident and non-resident single-homeowners and adjusting the raised fair market value ratio."

(Video by: Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by: Nam Il | Graphics by: Han Heung-su, Kim Ye-ji)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.