Lee Eokwon, Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, Says "Global Corporate Tax Increase Should Be Carefully Considered"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Lee Okwon, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, stated on the 7th, "The increase in the corporate tax rate is a matter that should be carefully reviewed considering corporate competitiveness and investment impact."

At a briefing of the Central Emergency Economic Countermeasures Headquarters held at the Government Seoul Office on the 7th, Vice Minister Lee responded to a question about whether Korea would raise the corporate tax rate in relation to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's remarks on the corporate tax rate, saying, "Regarding the increase in the corporate tax rate, I would like to give a principled statement that it is a case to be carefully reviewed considering corporate competitiveness and investment impact."

Earlier, the Biden administration in the United States has been pushing to raise the top corporate tax rate from the current 21% to 28%. The U.S. administration has also decided to promote the introduction of a 'minimum corporate tax rate' to countries around the world.

Vice Minister Lee said, "Recently, Secretary Yellen also proposed a global minimum tax, and there is growing international interest in its purpose and specific methods," adding, "There is much interest in whether the discussion is taking place within the global minimum tax structure for multinational corporations, such as Pillar 2 that emerged during the digital tax discussions, or if the U.S. is independently pursuing a new agenda."

Vice Minister Lee added, "There is a working channel with the U.S. tax authorities, and from what we have identified, the minimum tax proposal came out in the context of the OECD digital tax Pillar 2," and said, "We will continue to discuss and participate actively in international discussions such as the global digital tax."

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