Parliament passes controversial economic laws

SEOUL, April 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's parliament passed controversial
economic laws Thursday that the government claims are vital to fuel investments,
cut waste and boost growth.
The bills that bypassed legislation and judiciary committees were referred
directly to the plenary session by speaker Kim Hyung-o. They call for adjustments
to income taxes and the merger of Korea National Housing Corp. and Korea Land
Corp., which have overlapping areas of operations.
The revisions to the income tax scrap high tax rates for multiple home owners,
which account for 45 percent of revenue generated by home sales.
Under the new rules, the income tax rate will be lowered to a maximum 35 percent,
while tax rates have been lowered for sales of non-productive land held by both
individuals and businesses.
The government said levying "punitive" taxes has effectively blocked sales of
homes that could bring down housing prices, although opposition lawmakers argued
the bill will only help the rich.
Parliament, which is effectively controlled by the ruling Grand National Party,
also passed a law merging the state-run Korea National Housing Corp. and Korea
Land Corp., which have overlapping areas of operations.
The passage of the bill could help create a new organization in October that could
act as a role model for government efforts to streamline the public sector.
The merger had been opposed by the unions of the two corporation, with experts
raising concerns that it could lead to the creation of a large money-losing
company that can become a burden on the government.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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