The nominee for the head of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), Korea’s top financial regulator, expressed his concerns, Friday, over the country’s slated implementation of a financial investment income tax early next year, stating that the tax scheme will negatively affect the country’s capital markets.
During a press conference held in central Seoul on Friday morning, Kim Byoung-hwan, the incumbent first vice finance minister, said he thinks the financial investment income tax should be scrapped. Kim is awaiting a confirmation hearing expected to be held later this month at the National Assembly.
“From the perspective of revitalizing the capital markets as well as fostering mutual growth for both businesses and the public, the introduction of the financial investment income tax can only have a negative impact,” Kim said during the 카지노사이트모음 press conference. “As I believe it is necessary to scrap the financial investment income tax scheme, I plan to provide any help that I can as chief of the FSC in the legislative review process of the tax bill, after officially taking office.”
With regard to the government-led Corporate Value-up Initiative aimed at addressing the so-called “Korea discount” — a persistent undervaluation of Korean stocks — the FSC head nominee emphasized that the program will benefit both corporations and shareholders.
“Some have raised doubts about whether that the Value-up Initiative’s tax incentives are strong enough. However, I think corporations will able to directly assess the program’s effectiveness, once the law is implemented,” Kim said, showing his confidence in the tax support program.
In March this year, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok announced that the government would ease the corporate tax burden on companies that increase shareholder returns through dividend payments or share buybacks. In early July, the Korean government revealed a specified tax benefit plan, which included deducting 5 percent of companies’ increased amount of shareholder returns from their corporate taxes.