The National Assembly Budget Office held the Grand Debate on the 2023 Tax Reform Proposals on Thursday, November 9 at 10 am in Conference Room 1 at the Member’s Office Building to discuss the main issues and improvement tasks for the tax reform proposals.
In his opening remarks, Chief Euysup Cho expressed his hope that today's debate would yield insightful perspectives on the 2023 tax reform proposal, aiding the National Assembly's upcoming review process. National Assembly Speaker Jin-pyo Kim, in his encouraging remarks, underscored the crucial role of taxation amidst South Korea's waning growth potential. He urged collaboration among the National Assembly, the government, and academia to gather wisdom for a sound tax policy. National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee Chairman Sanghoon Kim emphasized in his congratulatory remarks that tax policy should bolster economic vitality and support the livelihood of Koreans, pledging reasonable deliberation on the tax reform proposals based on the opinions discussed at today's debate.
The debate, moderated by Sung-hyun Hwang, a professor of economics at Incheon National University, featured several key presentations. Jung-hoon Jeong, Deputy Minister of the Tax and Customs for the Ministry of Economy and Finance, identified the basic direction of the government's 2023 tax reform proposals as "revitalizing the economy, stabilizing people’s livelihood, and strengthening the capacity to overcome structural crises," and explained the background and expected effects of the main contents, including the investment incentives in video content and a deduction for marital gifted property. Hangjin Shin, Assistant Chief for Estimates and Tax Analysis at NABO, presented the second topic. He evaluated this year's tax reform proposals as a modest revision that support tax support for economic revitalization and enhancing childbirth and childcare under the existing tax policy framework. As for improvements, he called for broader tax revenue sources and legislative over decree-based reforms so that those proposals can be deliberated by the National Assembly.
Panelist Byung-goo Kang, an economics professor at Inha University, highlighted the need for increased tax revenues to maintain fiscal health against the backdrop of recent fiscal deficits and lowered economic forecasts, advocating for tax reforms promoting inclusivity and innovation in an increasingly polarized environment. Sungkyunkwan University's Law School Professor Jeon-oh Lee found the direction of the tax reform proposals sensible but cautioned against an overreliance on taxation as a policy tool. He recommended that tax policies be judged by their policy outcomes rather than the characteristics of beneficiaries. Jun-hyeon Kang, a member of the Strategy and Finance Committee and the Democratic Party, criticized the government's corporate tax reduction as ideologically driven and ineffective and that the tax reform proposals lacked consideration for securing future growth engines, suggesting enhancements to the effectiveness of the current fiscal consolidation system, the introduction of a temporary consumption tax credit, and expansion of the monthly rent tax credit as alternatives. Finally, Sung-kull Ryu, Vice Chairman of the Strategy and Finance Committee and a member of People Power Party, assessed that this year's tax reform proposals reflect considerations about future-oriented improvements, such as responding to the current economic and fiscal crisis, family support, and balanced regional development, highlighting the importance of evaluating tax and fiscal spending concurrently in a longer term period.
The debate was also live-streamed on the NATV YouTube channel.