Uri Party OKs Real Estate Tax Cuts

The ruling Uri Party has decided to reduce tax burdens on ownership and transaction taxes for those households owning no more than one house, and will organize a special task force to discuss the details. In addition, concerning the government’s aid provision to North Korea, the party has reached an agreement to not exceed “the limit acceptable to the public’s sentiment.”

For two days and a night since June 4, the floor leaders and policy commissioners of the Uri Party have held a workshop to refine its policies and made these decisions, according to reports from the workshop participants, on June 5.

Kang Bong-gyun, the chief policy commissioner, said, “We won’t touch the fundamentals of the real-estate policies, but we will consider easing tax burdens for those final consumers in the low or middle class who have had nothing to do with speculation and lived in inexpensive housing for five to ten years.”

“We confirmed that there is widespread public opinion anxious about the president’s promise of unconditional aid provisions to North Korea,” said another participant. “To make sure that aid to North Korea is provided only through legitimate and transparent ways, such as the Inter-Korea Cooperation Fund, we agreed to improve the checking measures of the party.”

In order to ease real estate restrictions for final consumers, the Uri Party is considering a number of options: reducing the amount or extending the payment due date of the property tax, which was increased according to assessment standards; decreasing acquisition or registration tax rates; and increasing exemptions on capital gains taxes for long-term homeowners.

If things run smoothly, the Uri Party will submit the new bill as early as the special session of the National Assembly scheduled this month.

Despite these partial revisions, the party will keep holding the principles of the present real estate policy. “We can’t undermine the foundations of the existing policy,” said chief commissioner Kang. Since this stance is a compromise between Cheong Wa Dae, which insisted on preserving the keynotes of the established policy, and some of the party’s lawmakers who demanded a massive amendment to the party’s policy line, it remains to be seen whether it could be adopted by the whole party with one accord.

In-Jik Cho cij1999@donga.com