<em>Forest Service, National Industrial Complex, etc. 'Alternative Forest Resource Creation Cost' Tax Reduction</em>

This year, the burden of alternative forest resource creation fees will be fully exempted for companies involved in national industrial complex development, logistics complex installation, and residents recovering housing in special disaster areas.

The Korea Forest Service announced on the 5th that it plans to revise the Mountainous Area Management Act with these contents.

원본보기 아이콘

As a follow-up measure to the "Fee System Improvement and Management System Strengthening Plan" announced at the recently held "23rd Emergency Economic and Livelihood Meeting," the Korea Forest Service aims to apply the revised contents starting from July this year.

The alternative forest resource creation fee is a statutory charge imposed on beneficiaries when obtaining permission to use mountainous areas for other purposes. It covers costs required to preserve public functions such as watershed replenishment and greenhouse gas absorption of forests damaged during development.

The system improvement focuses on reducing the burden of the alternative forest resource creation fee. The core is to fully exempt the alternative forest resource creation fee regardless of whether the mountainous area is designated as conservation or semi-conservation land for important industrial facilities such as national industrial complexes, logistics terminals, logistics complexes installed in mountainous areas, and public interest facilities such as non-profit medical institutions established in rural and fishing villages.

When constructing, extending, or relocating single-family houses for the purpose of recovery in special disaster areas, the alternative forest resource creation fee will also be fully exempted regardless of the mountainous area classification.

This is intended to promote corporate economic activities and help the daily recovery of citizens in special disaster areas. The Korea Forest Service expects that approximately 15.5 billion KRW worth of alternative forest resource creation fees will be exempted annually due to the expansion of exemption rates and eligible targets.

Nam Sung-hyun, Administrator of the Korea Forest Service, said, "We will revise the Mountainous Area Management Act so that citizens and companies can feel the effect of reducing the burden of alternative forest resource creation fees in the field," and added, "The Korea Forest Service will continue to actively ease regulations on public interest projects to support economic revitalization through forests."

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