Vice Minister of Economy and Finance: "98% of Citizens Unaffected by Comprehensive Real Estate Tax... Some Concerns Are Exaggerated" (Comprehensive)

Lee Eok-won, 1st Vice Minister of Ministry of Economy and Finance, Holds Policy Review Meeting

Lee Eok-won, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, is speaking while presiding over the 39th Innovation Growth Strategy Review Meeting, the COVID-19 Policy Review Meeting, the Korean New Deal Review Task Force, and the 33rd Price-Related Vice Ministers' Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 19th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Lee Okwon, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, stated ahead of the comprehensive real estate tax notice that "98% of the people are unrelated to the comprehensive real estate tax," emphasizing that some concerns are exaggerated.

On the morning of the 19th, Vice Minister Lee held the '39th Innovation Growth Strategy Review Meeting, Policy Review Meeting, Korean New Deal Review Meeting, and 33rd Price-related Vice Ministers Meeting' at the Government Seoul Office and made these remarks.

He said, "Regarding the comprehensive real estate tax to be notified next week, I would like to say one thing about the criticism that a large number of people will be imposed with a significant amount of tax," adding, "Although there are exaggerated concerns, the clear fact is that about 98% of the entire population will not receive a tax notice."

He continued, "The tax burden on some high-priced single-home households who have to pay the comprehensive real estate tax will also be considerably eased according to the government's protection measures for actual demanders," explaining, "For elderly single-home households, the deduction rate has been increased up to 80%, and the taxable standard amount has been raised from a publicly announced price of 900 million KRW to 1.1 billion KRW."

Regarding the National Support Fund, which began to be paid from September 6, he reported that payments have already been completed for 98.7% of the eligible recipients. He said, "Out of 43.26 million people eligible according to the National Support Fund database, payments have been completed for 42.72 million people, which corresponds to 98.7%," adding, "In terms of amount, 10.8 trillion KRW, which is 98% of the 11 trillion KRW budget reflected in the second supplementary budget, has been disbursed so far."

Furthermore, he said, "An analysis of the usage of the paid National Support Fund shows that out of the 7.7 trillion KRW charged to credit and debit cards, 6.6 trillion KRW, or 85.5%, had already been used as of the 24th of last month," and added, "Looking at related indicators of the perceived economy at the time of the support fund payment, it can be confirmed that the National Support Fund contributed to some extent to the recovery of the perceived economy."

Regarding loss compensation for small businesses and small merchants who suffered business losses due to compliance with gathering bans and business hour restrictions, he explained, "Out of 615,000 eligible companies, 533,000 companies, or 86.7%, have applied for payment, and payments totaling 1.5 trillion KRW have been completed for 525,000 companies." He added, "For industries not eligible for loss compensation, we will promptly finalize and announce customized support plans considering the characteristics and demand of individual industries."

He also mentioned the situation of the 20% reduction in fuel tax implemented since the 12th. As of the 18th, one week after implementation, the nationwide average prices of gasoline and diesel fell by 111 KRW and 84 KRW respectively compared to the 11th, reflecting 68% and 72% of the fuel tax reduction.

He said, "Domestic gasoline prices show a trend similar to international gasoline prices from two weeks ago. Considering that the international gasoline price was 93 dollars and 1 cent per barrel on the 17th, about 6 dollars lower than two weeks ago, domestic gasoline prices may stabilize further," adding, "The government will closely monitor the reflection of the fuel tax reduction through a daily inspection system, including a public-private joint market inspection team, and will actively respond through Fair Trade Commission investigations if unfair practices such as collusion occur."

Meanwhile, regarding the third-quarter household trend announced by Statistics Korea the day before, he said, "While total income increased significantly, the distribution indicator, the quintile ratio, fell sharply," and added, "We will further strengthen efforts for inclusive recovery that alleviates difficulties of vulnerable groups, such as steady growth of market income through quality private job creation, loss compensation for small merchants, and exploring support measures for non-eligible industries."

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