Government-ruling Party’s Rapid Strides

Every corporation or individual that will start businesses to create jobs from this July through June 2006 will be given a corporate tax or income tax reduction by 50 percent for five years after it makes a profit.

In addition, the consolidated real estate taxation will be introduced next year in order to apply a progressive tax to the affluent who possess lots of land or houses.

The government officials and the ruling party leadership made a government-ruling party consultation at the National Assembly dining room for special guests on Monday.

Deputy Prime Minster Lee Hun-jai and the ruling Uri Party’s floor leader Kim Geun-tae participated in this meeting. Both the government and the Uri Party agreed to pass bills on “economy and public welfare.”

This decision of the Uri Party, which won the majority in the National Assembly, will facilitate the passing of the main bills which have been delayed for so long.

However, yesterday’s bills contain the controversial Labor Relations Act in which both labor and businesses have been in conflict for the sake of their own interest. As a result, a heated debate is expected in the deliberation process at the National Assembly.

Deputy Prime Minster Lee Hun-jai stressed the principle of market economy and pro-growth policy to alleviate concerns over spreading anti-market economy both at home and abroad.

Fourteen bills agreed upon by the government and the ruling party yesterday included the revised law on Taxation Exemption, the law on the protection of regular workers, and the law on the consolidated real estate taxation.

The government and the ruling party agreed to provide job opportunities for the approximately 370,000 job seekers in the public sector, which has increased by about 90,000 from last year.

“We decided to expand the trust guarantee funds and technological trust guarantee funds from 39 trillion won to 42 trillion won to encourage small businesses. We agreed to support companies with special guaranteed fund which have been struggling due to the short supply of raw materials,” the Uri Party’s policy planning committee chief said after yesterday’s meeting.