Jeonnam Province's Full Effort to Support Small Businesses Amid COVID-19 Spread

Establishment of Integrated Criteria for Local Tax Reduction

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province (Governor Kim Young-rok) is making every effort to minimize the economic damage caused by the spread of COVID-19.

On the 10th, Jeonnam Province announced that it has prepared an integrated local tax reduction standard for COVID-19 victims, including benevolent landlords and Chinese export companies.

This integrated standard was prepared to induce participation from building owners by reducing local taxes for benevolent landlords amid the domestic demand recession caused by the nationwide spread of COVID-19, which has caused great difficulties for small business owners and self-employed individuals, and to support local taxes for Chinese export-damaged companies and manufacturers importing Chinese parts for the first time nationwide.

The support targets are benevolent landlords who have reduced rent for more than three months and Chinese export companies that have suffered more than a 20% loss in sales due to the impact of COVID-19, and it will be applied from the property tax on buildings imposed in July.

For each target, benevolent landlords who reduced rent for more than three months or agreed to reduce rent before June 1, the property tax assessment date, can receive a property tax reduction of up to 50% within the range of the rent reduction rate.

Chinese export companies, etc., whose sales in the first quarter of this year decreased by more than 20% compared to last year, will receive a property tax reduction of up to 75%. Landlords or companies that did not receive benefits this year plan to receive temporary property tax reductions until next year.

In particular, the local tax reduction support for Chinese export companies is the first to be implemented nationwide, expected to serve as a catalyst for local tax reductions in other cities and provinces, creating a nationwide synergy effect.

Wi Hun-ryang, head of the Taxation Division of Jeonnam Province, said, “We hope the benevolent landlord participation campaign will become a small beacon of hope for small business owners and self-employed people in the province who are struggling due to COVID-19,” and added, “We ask many landlords to actively participate and help overcome the economic crisis.”

Meanwhile, Jeonnam Province has been providing local tax support such as extension of payment deadlines, collection deferrals, and postponement of tax audits since February to ease the burden on taxpayers affected by COVID-19.