Vice Minister Im Gi-geun, acting as Minister of the Ministry of Planning and Budget, said on the 23rd that regarding whether to draw up a supplementary budget this year, the immediate priority is to focus on executing the main budget without disruption.
At a National Assembly Strategy and Finance Committee work report the same day, Im said, "Because it is currently February, we are in the initial stage of executing the budget reviewed and finalized by the National Assembly," adding, "The priority is to execute it faithfully." The intent is to decide on discussions of a supplementary budget by comprehensively assessing future revenue conditions and the economic trend.
On the first-quarter tax revenue outlook, Im said, "Revenue conditions are better than at the time of budget formulation," adding, "It is February, so it is hard to jump to conclusions, but overall it is expected to be favorable."
Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance and Economy, who attended the same session, also said, "We can make projections only after the March corporate settlement of account, but based on the current situation alone, with the semiconductor boom and the economic cycle, corporate tax looks set to improve."
Regarding the indication that the share of earned income tax in national taxes has grown, Deputy Prime Minister Koo explained, "Earned income tax shows a high growth rate as the number of employed and regular workers increases and wages rise," adding, "Corporate tax is relatively sensitive to the economy."
Koo added, "We will review whether there is a way to reduce the tax burden on earned income earners."