Kim In-ho, Chair of Seoul Metropolitan Council, "Excess 2020 City Tax Revenue Should Be Paid as 100,000 KRW Disaster Relief per Seoul Citizen"

According to the preliminary settlement details of the 2020 local tax collection, the excess collected local tax revenue amounts to approximately 3.8 trillion won, and even after excluding statutory transfers to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and 25 autonomous districts, an excess of over 1.2 trillion won remains; a request has been made to distribute 100,000 won (local currency) per Seoul citizen.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Kim In-ho, Chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, announced that the city’s tax revenue for the year 2020 far exceeded expectations, confirming that Seoul has the financial capacity to provide universal disaster relief payments to all Seoul citizens.

According to the preliminary settlement details of the 2020 tax revenue collection, the excess tax revenue amounts to approximately 3.8 trillion KRW. Even after deducting statutory transfers to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and the 25 autonomous districts, an excess of over 1.2 trillion KRW is expected to remain.

The reason for the high tax revenue last year was a significant increase in several items such as real estate acquisition tax and automobile tax compared to 2019.

Chairman Kim In-ho stated, “The excess tax revenue in Seoul exceeds 3.8 trillion KRW, and even after statutory transfers to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and autonomous districts, more than 1.2 trillion KRW remains. Assuming a universal disaster relief payment of 100,000 KRW per Seoul citizen, the total required budget is about 1 trillion KRW, which can be sufficiently covered by the excess tax revenue.”

He added, “It is regrettable that Seoul, which knows this situation better than anyone, has not even started discussions on providing universal disaster relief payments, continuously using financial burdens as an excuse. If Seoul truly cares about and supports the livelihood of its citizens, it should not continue selective support only but comfort citizens through universal support and actively stimulate the local economy.”

Furthermore, Chairman Kim mentioned the method of providing universal disaster relief payments, saying, “If payments are made through local currencies such as Seoul Love Gift Certificates (Zero Pay) and are limited to be used within a short period, it will directly help revive the neighborhood economy.”

Chairman Kim also strongly urged, “If there is a surplus of taxes collected from citizens, it is only proper to return it directly to the citizens. Seoul must decide to provide universal disaster relief payments immediately.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.