Lee Hyung-il Says "Distinction Based on Actual Residence Needed"... "Single-Home Tax" Debate Moves to National Assembly

[Anchor]

Nominee for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Lee Hyung-il has made it clear that there should be a distinction between residential and non-residential properties regarding the tax reform bill. However, voices calling for further revisions continue to emerge from the Democratic Party, which has received the tax reform package.

Reporter Jeong Seong-jin has the details.

[Reporter]

Nominee for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Lee Hyung-il, nominated to lead the economic team for the second term of the Lee Jae-myung administration, explained that the government's tax reform bill was revised in less than a month to reflect criticisms that the differentiation of the comprehensive real estate holding tax for non-resident single-home owners was excessive.

However, he emphasized that a distinction is still maintained based on residence.

[Lee Hyung-il / Nominee for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance: "While we are easing the disparity (between actual residents and non-resident single-home owners), I believe some distinction must still be maintained, which is why we established the distinction between the (comprehensive real estate holding tax basic deductions of) 1.4 billion won and 1.2 billion won."]

Nominee Lee stated that he plans to reflect rational points if raised during the parliamentary deliberation process, while also making it clear that the direction of the tax reform bill is a housing market policy centered on "residence."

[Lee Hyung-il / Nominee for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance: "These measures, such as converting various ownership-based deductions into residence-based deductions, are all being maintained as they are and have been submitted to the National Assembly."]

In the government's finalized tax reform bill, the basic comprehensive real estate holding tax deduction for non-resident single-home owners was returned from the initial 900 million won to the current 1.2 billion won, but the difference from the 1.4 billion won applied to actual resident single-home owners was maintained.

The plan to reorganize the capital gains tax long-term holding special deduction and comprehensive real estate holding tax credits—which were previously granted based on the holding period—to focus on the period of residence was also left unchanged.

Although the government has taken a step back, critics within the Democratic Party argue that it is not enough.

[Oh Gi-hyung / Democratic Party Lawmaker (MBC Radio 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus'): "We do not see that (the party's requests) have been fully reflected. Regarding the issue of single-home non-residents, we need to monitor the situation further."]

During prior party-government consultations, the Democratic Party strongly conveyed to the government its stance that the distinction between resident and non-resident single-home owners should be eliminated. Consequently, debates between the government and the ruling party over tax reform appear inevitable during the parliamentary review process.

(Photo courtesy of Yonhap News)
(Video Reported by Lee Jae-young | Video Edited by Kim Yoon-sung | Design by Park Tae-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.