President Lee Jae-myung said on the 27th that a supplementary budget is needed to sharply increase personnel for "delinquent tax collection." He said the central government should actively inject funds to support delinquency management by local governments. In particular, regarding the collection of non-tax revenue not under the National Tax Service, he said, "Legislation in the National Assembly is too slow to get anything done," and ordered ministries to hire their own collection personnel and run a joint management team.
Blue House Spokesperson Kim Nam-joon said at an afternoon briefing, "For the delinquency management team, the relevant ministries will first organize plans and report them (to the president)," adding, "There will naturally be an opportunity to explain to the media as well."
At the cabinet meeting, Lee said, "We must not become a society where following the rules brings losses and breaking the rules brings gains," adding, "Even if it takes expense, time, and manpower, stamp this out." He repeatedly mentioned the need to expand personnel for the delinquency management team throughout the meeting.
Lee also said, "The delinquency management team both advances tax justice and helps create jobs, and above all, the tax base secured through collections far exceeds labor costs." In particular, he said, "Do not confuse a policy with such overlapping effects with a simple expansion of public-sector staffing," adding, "The government should be a model employer by paying appropriate wages to the delinquency management team."
◇"Advance local budgets on the premise of a supplementary budget" to be reviewed further
He also raised the need to draft a supplementary budget. At the meeting, Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung asked the central government to support labor costs for local governments to operate delinquency management teams. In response, Lee said, "There is, of course, no line item (for labor costs) right now, and we will in any case have to adjust the budget through a supplementary budget at the appropriate time," adding, "I don't know when it will be, but it's not as if we won't do a supplementary budget all year."
In particular, he said, "On the premise that we will do a supplementary budget, have the Ministry of Planning and Budget pay out funds to local governments and implement early, including later reimbursement." However, Vice Minister Im Gi-geun of the budget office raised issues with central funding on the grounds that it is a "local government affair," and Lee responded that, instead of finalizing it at the meeting, they should review it further.
Meanwhile, in discussing non-tax revenue collection with National Tax Service Commissioner Im Gwang-hyeon, Lee said, "The National Assembly's legislative pace is too slow. Even before that, hire (personnel) under each ministry's name and second them or run joint management." When Im said legislation might be faster, Lee said, "Who knows when that will happen—are you going to wait until then?" adding, "Start now. There's no guarantee it will be done in Feb."