S. Korea urged to extend tax breaks for facility investment

SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) -- A majority of economists urged the government to
extend tax breaks for facility investment for the time being until the economy
enters a full-fledged recovery phase, a survey showed Thursday.
The survey by the Federation of Korean Industries, the nation's biggest business
lobby, found that 63.2 percent of the 19 economists surveyed thought the
government should not scrap the "temporary investment tax credit" by the end of
this year.
But, the remaining respondents said the government needs to scrap the tax breaks
for fiscal soundness, according to the survey.
Under the temporary investment tax credit, a company can deduct its corporate tax
by as much as 100 percent of its facility investment.
A sense of relief that South Korea has weathered the global economic crisis has
prompted the government to phase out tax incentives for fiscal sustainability as
the nation's coffers have dwindled because of expansionary fiscal policies.
(END)