PPP, Government's Tax Reform Plan 'Heavily Attacked'...

"Abusing Supplementary Budgets & Cash Expenditures, Forcing Companies to Pay More Taxes...Self-Contradictory"

Song Eon-seok, interim leader, speaks at a floor strategy meeting (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Park Dong-ju = People Power Party interim leader and floor leader Song Eon-seok speaks at a floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 1st. 2025.8.1 pdj6635@yna.co.kr

 The People Power Party (PPP) on the 1st continued its criticism of the Lee Jae-myung administration's first tax reform plan, which includes raising corporate taxes, calling it an anti-business tax policy that squeezes companies.

Song Eon-seok, interim leader and floor leader, said at a floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the same day, "The government cites revenue shortfalls and the need to secure fiscal capacity as reasons (for raising corporate taxes), but in reality, it is a tax bomb that will once again squeeze our companies."

Interim Leader Song argued, "Companies are in a desperate situation where they need to make bold investments in a timely manner amidst competition in future advanced technologies, but the government is turning a blind eye to this and trying to shackle companies by raising corporate taxes."

He emphasized, "The Lee Jae-myung administration has pushed through a supplementary budget of about 30 trillion won since its inauguration and has indiscriminately indulged in all sorts of cash expenditures. And now, claiming to be short of money, it is forcing companies to pay more taxes. This is a complete self-contradiction and evasion of responsibility."

Kim Jung-jae, chairman of the policy committee, referring to the increase in securities transaction tax and amendments to the Commercial Act, stated, "This is clearly targeted taxation aimed at businesses and investors, and it is a regressive tax policy that is solely focused on collecting taxes rather than growth. It is a self-harming economic policy that tightens the breathing room for businesses and dampens their will to invest and hire."

He added, "This tax reform plan will act as the third major negative factor for the KOSPI, rather than fulfilling President Lee's promise of KOSPI 5,000. The People Power Party strongly condemns the government's anti-business tax policy and officially demands the withdrawal of this tax reform plan."

Park Soo-young, the opposition party's whip for the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee, said, "This is a typical left-wing tax policy that aims to create a bigger government, collect more taxes, and spend more. We hope President Lee will lower taxes as he promised during the presidential election, empower businesses by not shifting the burden of government to the private sector, and create a Korea where the burden on households is reduced."

Yoo Sang-beom, deputy floor leader, wrote on Facebook, "This is predatory tax increases that go against economic revitalization. The tax increase, now called 'normalization,' is nothing but a deception of the public."

Rep. Song Seok-jun also argued on Facebook, "Companies that create jobs and contribute to the national treasury by paying taxes are saying they have nothing left due to the bombshells of tariffs, the Commercial Act, the Yellow Envelope Act, and the Corporate Tax Act, and that they want to quit or leave due to regulations and surveillance. Who will raise the cows? You do not have the freedom to ruin the country just because you are in power."

The government announced the tax reform plan the previous day, which includes a uniform 1% point increase in corporate tax rates across all tax bracket levels, the imposition of capital gains tax on major shareholders holding stocks worth more than 1 billion won, and the restoration of the securities transaction tax rate from the current 0.15% to 0.20%. Yonhap News