[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] On the 29th, Jin Seong-jun, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said about the real estate tax cut theory, "Right now, controlling house prices is more urgent than cutting taxes," and added, "We must not make the mistake of igniting the house prices, which have just begun to show signs of stabilization."
Jin, a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, emphasized on Facebook that day, "While an excessively heavy tax burden is undesirable, if it has been decided to impose taxes for fair taxation and house price stabilization, it is right to prepare a plan to properly return the increased tax revenue to the people."
He continued, "Is it wise to cut taxes immediately and then issue government bonds later?" and "Moreover, hasn't the current tax law even been implemented yet?" He added, "Our party and government have already pledged disaster loss compensation legislation and nationwide disaster consolation payments," and reminded, "We should recall the fiscal soundness controversies that have plagued us every time COVID-19 disaster relief funds were allocated."
Regarding reflecting 60% of the publicly announced property price in the property tax assessment, Jin said, "Honestly, I don't know if it is a fair market price, but it is true that we are trying to reduce the tax burden on the people by any means." He also said, "However, to prevent property tax from rising too much at once, a cap has been set so that it does not exceed 30% compared to the previous year's tax," and added, "The tax rate itself has been lowered for houses with a publicly announced price of 600 million won or less."
He said, "Right now, controlling house prices is more urgent than cutting taxes. We must not make the mistake of igniting the house prices, which have just begun to show signs of stabilization," and added, "If tax revenue has increased, I think it is characteristic of the Democratic Party to find ways to return it well to the people."
Regarding the Democratic Party's consideration of reducing real estate taxes such as comprehensive real estate tax and property tax to soothe public sentiment on real estate confirmed by the April 7 by-elections defeat, Jin said on the 21st, "There should be no tax cuts for the rich that go against overcoming real estate polarization." He said, "Despite many efforts by our party and government, we must properly diagnose the reasons why house prices have not been controlled, and then come up with measures on what and how to do it," and asked, "Can house prices be controlled if the tax measures introduced to prevent real estate speculation and control house prices are eased?"
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