PPP Slams Tax Reform as 'Tax Extortion'... DP Watching Closely

[Anchor]

The People Power Party has defined the latest tax reform plan as a tax hike. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party is adopting a cautious stance while monitoring public sentiment.

Reporter Park Chan-beom has the details.

[Reporter]

The People Power Party harshly criticized the government's tax reform plan as the "worst in history," arguing that it merely increases the total tax burden on the public.

Leader Jang Dong-hyeok denounced it as "tax extortion that takes back the money it handed out," while the party's members on the National Assembly's Finance and Economy Committee labeled it a "harsh and exploitative tax reform" that brutally drains citizens' wealth.

[Bae Jun-young / PPP Secretary on the National Assembly's Finance and Economy Committee: The government, which is raking in record-high excess tax revenues amid a semiconductor boom, says it will collect an additional 3.4 trillion won in taxpayer money. In short, it is a 'shut up and pay taxes' policy.]

The People Power Party warned that the plan to tighten comprehensive real estate holding taxes on multiple-home owners and non-resident single-home owners will cause the most severe side effects, predicting that the tax burden will be passed on to tenants and lead to higher lease deposits and monthly rent.

In particular, they argued that including non-resident single-home owners under the tightened comprehensive real estate tax targets suppresses even the freedom of residency relocation for single-home owners.

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The Democratic Party did not issue a separate official commentary yesterday (August 3), the day the reform plan was announced, but its floor leadership is scheduled to state its position today.

An official from the Democratic Party leadership told SBS, "Because tax reform is a sensitive issue, we are carefully discussing our official stance."

It appears the party is finalizing its position while observing public opinion trends regarding the reform plan.

[Kang Jun-hyun / Senior Spokesperson of the Democratic Party: The party leadership has decided to closely examine current livelihood, asset market, and real estate issues, and focus on formulating alternatives.]

Both rival parties are on high alert as public sentiment regarding this real estate tax reform is a critical variable that will influence political leverage as well as upcoming elections.

(Video reporting: Lee Seung-hwan, Shin Dong-hwan, Video editing: Lee Seung-hee)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.