Ahn Cheol-soo: "Financial Investment Tax Should Be Deferred to Avoid 'Ant Solo Taxation'"

Democratic Party Must Abandon Obsession with Tax Hikes on the Wealthy
and Listen to the Outcry of '14 Million Ants'

Ahn Cheol-soo, People Power Party member Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, emphasized on the 20th that the financial investment income tax (금투세) should be postponed, calling it a "bad law."

On the same day, Ahn stated on his Facebook, "When the ruling and opposition parties agreed on the introduction of the financial investment income tax two years ago, I question how much they truly considered the future of the Korean stock market and the position of individual investors."

He explained, "Countries like the United States, Japan, and Germany, which impose capital gains tax on stocks, have financial market stability and attractiveness at levels incomparable to other countries. However, countries with financial levels similar to ours, such as China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan, only impose transaction taxes on stocks and do not levy capital gains tax."

He continued, "If the financial investment income tax is implemented from next year, there could be a flood of sell-offs at the end of the year, causing market instability. The Democratic Party says that the tax is only collected from the wealthy, so what is the problem? But if the stock market becomes unstable, the greatest victims will be the small investors."

Ahn argued, "It is reverse discrimination to tax only 14 million individual investors, excluding foreigners and institutions," adding, "The term 'small investors bearing the full tax burden' cannot be avoided." He further urged, "The Democratic Party should abandon its obsession with taxing the wealthy and listen to the concerns of experts and the outcry of 14 million small investors."

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