The government has decided to maintain the basic comprehensive real estate tax deduction for "non-resident single-home owners" at 1.2 billion won, keeping it the same as the current level.

This restoration comes 29 days after the government initially announced in its tax reform plan that it would reduce the deduction for non-resident homes to 900 million won.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced today (September 1) that 11 tax law amendment bills, including the Comprehensive Real Estate Tax Act and the Income Tax Act containing these provisions, were finalized during a Cabinet meeting.

According to the revised plan, the deduction limit for non-resident married couples who jointly own a single home will also be raised to 1.2 billion won combined, with 600 million won each. The tax burden ceiling will also be maintained at the current 150% instead of the 200% that was originally planned to be increased.

This measure appears to follow criticism that differentiating taxation based on actual residency does not fit South Korea's housing reality, where frequent moves and the Jeonse (lump-sum deposit lease) system are common. In addition, demands within the ruling party grew stronger to ease the harsh tax burden.

When announcing the tax law amendment bills, the government decided to recognize periods of non-residency as actual residency periods if homeowners could not live in their homes due to unavoidable reasons such as children's education, job changes, relocation, illness, transferring schools, staying abroad, or caring for parents.

On top of this, plans to include cases such as moving to other regions to care for grandchildren are also being reviewed.

Regulations regarding Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), which had faced fierce backlash, were also rolled back to pre-revision status.

The government once again allowed unused portions of the annual contribution limit to be carried over to the following year and removed contract period restrictions to allow indefinite subscription.

In addition, simultaneous subscription to both Youth ISAs and Youth Future Savings accounts will be permitted.

While stating that it will support asset building by reflecting public demands raised during the opinion-gathering process, the government plans to submit these tax reform bills to the National Assembly by September 3.

(Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Choi Gang-san | Graphics by Lee Su-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)