Finance minister calls for scrapping financial investment income tax

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on Tuesday reiterated the need to scrap a financial investment income tax to ease market uncertainties. Choi made the call during a parliamentary audit into his ministry, saying that the postponement of a decision on whether to implement the new tax scheme or not "equals deferring uncertainties." Under the investment income tax scheme, capital gains of over 50 million won (US$36,137) from stock investments will be subject to a 20 percent tax, while earnings exceeding 300 million won will be subject to a 25 percent tax. It was originally set to go into effect in 2023, but its implementation has been delayed until January 2025. The government and the ruling People Power Party are pushing for its abolition to stimulate the stock market, while the main opposition Democratic Party is weighing further postponement. "It is a right choice to scrap the investment income tax. Some have called for further delay, but issues they presented as reasons for the option (postponement) cannot be addressed in a couple of years," Choi said. "It is needed to discuss ways of reforming the overall taxation system on financial assets after scrapping the planned tax scheme," he added. Source: Yonhap News Agency