Cultural Expenditure Deductions Could Reach One Million Won

Cultural life expenditures, such as watching movies and seeing performances, are expected to create income tax deductions that total around one million won a year.

Also, foreigners who invest more than 0.5 billion won in tourism will have exclusive right to run casino businesses.

The Millennium Democratic Party`s chief policymaker, Rep. Chung Sye-kyun, and Culture and Tourism Minister Lee Chang-dong reached an agreement on the revision of related laws at the conference bㅜetween the party and the government in the National Assembly on May 10.

Chung said, “I will try to get a consensus on an income tax deduction for cultural life expenditures at the regular session of the National Assembly. I will also make an effort to fix the provisions about authorization for casinos to be run by foreigners to expand their investment.”

The cultural expenditures that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is trying to make tax deductible are: △ admission fees to cultural facilities △ expenditures on cultural properties such as books, discs, and videotapes △ attendance fees to cultural education programs.

However, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, which is responsible for revising tax laws, is opposed to the deduction because of the possibility of overlapping benefits and the potential for confusion in the taxation system. This means that conflict between the two ministries is inevitable. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has asked the government to allocate another 139.9 billion won to bring the total amount spent on making Gwangju into a cultural center to two trillion won.

Young-Hae Choi yhchoi65@donga.com