Protecting Salaried Workers' Fragile Wallets... Democratic Party Proposes 'Year-End Tax Settlement Family Benefit Act'

The Democratic Party announced a bill that allows the combined use of credit card expenses between spouses for year-end tax settlements for office workers.

On the 17th, Democratic Party lawmaker Im Gwang-hyun unveiled the "Year-end Tax Settlement Family Benefits Act," the "Summer Vacation Support Act," and other "Salaryman Small but Certain Happiness Series Planned Bills" containing such provisions.

According to the bill, the current law does not allow the combination of credit card expenses between spouses, causing inconvenience as couples have to individually consider which spouse's expenses to allocate. The bill aims to revise the law to enable the aggregation of credit card expenses between spouses to help households.

Lawmaker Im pointed out, "While companies and small business owners can broadly deduct various expenses necessary to generate profits, office workers cannot deduct expenses necessary to earn income. Even a single suit needed for commuting or a lunch with colleagues is a cost that salarymen have to handle on their own."

Democratic Party Welcomes Former Deputy Commissioner of National Tax Service Lim Kwang-hyun
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Han Sang-gyun = On the 16th, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, took a commemorative photo with Lim Kwang-hyun, former Deputy Commissioner of the National Tax Service, at the party's talent welcome ceremony held at the National Assembly. 2024.2.16
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Companies and small business owners receive various financial supports, can defer or split tax payments, and have dedicated government departments, but in comparison, 20 million office workers are being left out of policies.

According to data from Lawmaker Im Gwang-hyun’s office, in 2023, real household income decreased by 1.6% compared to the previous year (the largest decline since the first quarter of 2017), while earned income tax increased by 1.7 trillion won compared to the previous year. The proportion of earned income tax in total national tax revenue is 17.2%, the highest level since 2013.

Lawmaker Im said, "Salarymen who live diligently paying taxes on a modest income are subjects to be protected by the country, not targets for increased taxation, but the reality is otherwise. During my term, I will steadily improve unreasonable systems so that the relative unfairness faced by salarymen with thin wallets can move toward fairness."

The jointly announced Summer Vacation Support Act provides that companies reimburse a certain amount of expenses spent on accommodation and transportation for office workers who travel domestically during July and August vacation periods, and excludes domestic travel support funds from earned income. This is expected to not only boost workers’ motivation but also help revitalize the domestic economy.