Gov`t to boost no. of credit-card lottery winners

Starting next year, the number of credit-card lottery winners will sharply increase and total prize amounts will also rise. In addition, the requirements for stores to affiliate themselves with credit-card companies will be eased to draw more affiliates. Those refusing to accept credit cards will face tax audits.

These are some of the measures hammered out by the government Wednesday to promote the use of credit cards. Saying it was important to get an exact picture of the incomes of self-employed people with high incomes in order to ensure fairness in taxation, officials plan to draw up necessary measures and put them into effect from this month.

Last year, 112,518 people won credit-card lotteries and received a combined 19.2 billion won in prize money. The government plans to decide by how much it will increase the number of winners and the amounts of prizes soon after engaging in consultations with related agencies. The government will induce credit-card companies to lower fees for affiliated stores from the current 1.5-4.5 percent to 1.5-2 percent while sharply increasing tax deductions on purchases made with credit cards.

Boo Hyung-Kwon bookum90@donga.com