![[일문일답] Hong Nam-ki “I don’t review any tax problems when organizing supplementary administrations”](https://image.chosun.com/sitedata/image/202103/02/2021030202273_0.jpg "[일문일답] Hong Nam-ki “I don’t review any tax problems when organizing supplementary administrations”")
Input 2021.03.02 16:44
‘All citizens’ subsidies’ opposes “Intensive support for the victims is effective”
Minister of Employment Lee Jae-gap “Only 148,000 of the emergency employment measures are directly employed”
On the 2nd, Vice Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki and Minister of Strategy and Finance announced an additional budget of 15 trillion won (additional budget), including the issuance of deficit government bonds of 10 trillion won, and said, “The issue of tax increase was not reviewed at all while organizing the supplementary budget.”
After a briefing on the supplementary bill on the same day, Deputy Prime Minister Hong replied to the question, “There is a claim that tax increases are needed as Narat debt increases due to the payment of disaster subsidies and promotion of large-scale government projects. What is your position on this?” He said, “The administration is doing as much as possible internally to cover the short-term revenues, such as strengthening the taxation of evacuated income and improving the tax exemption system,” he said.
He added, “The issue of tax increases needs to be comprehensively considered in a number of factors, such as how much welfare level will be taken and how much the public burden can be tolerated,” he said. “In this respect, a process of public debate or formation of a public consensus is essential.” said.
Deputy Prime Minister Hong reiterated his opposition, saying, “It is a way to maximize the effect of intensive support for the victims rather than universal support as much as possible,” regarding the ruling party’s default payment of’national subsidies’.
Deputy Prime Minister Hong raised a cautious opinion regarding the formation of additional budgets for government subsidies, etc. “The next plan will be decided if necessary after comprehensively judging the progress of quarantine, economic recovery, and financial conditions.”
Below is a briefing with reporters by Deputy Prime Minister Hong, Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jae-gap, and Budget Officer Ando-geol of the Ministry of Science and Technology after a supplementary briefing.
(Deputy Prime Minister Hong) “In order to support the supplementary countermeasures of about 15 trillion won, we discovered and utilized about 5 trillion won of available financial resources while organizing this supplementary administration. It is said that we will issue a deficit government bond worth 9 trillion won of 9 trillion won. I would like to emphasize the point: I asked for a position on the national subsidies, but at this stage, rather than interest in what will happen to the next supplementary budget, the supplementary budget announced today will be passed by the National Assembly in a short time, and its execution will be expedited. The next plan will be decided if necessary by comprehensively judging the progress of quarantine, economic recovery, financial conditions, etc. However, from the perspective of the fiscal authorities, rather than universal support as possible, the victims will have to make a decision. I would like to tell you that intensive and thick support is a way to maximize the support effect.”
-As Narat debt increases due to the payment of disaster subsidies and the promotion of large-scale national projects, the theory of increase in taxation has been raised mainly in the politics. What is your position on the tax increase theory?
(Deputy Prime Minister Hong) “The issue of tax increase was not reviewed at all while organizing an additional budget of 15 trillion won. However, the purpose of the question seems to be whether the issue of tax increase will ultimately be discussed as the welfare level increases in the future. Since it is necessary to comprehensively consider various factors such as how much the welfare level will be taken and how much the public burden can be tolerated, a process of public debate and the formation of a consensus among the people are indispensable in this respect. To cover, the government and the administration are making as many support measures as possible, such as strengthening taxation on fugitive income, reorganization of non-taxation reduction and exemption system, etc., as much as possible internally by the administration to expand the revenue base. And on the one hand, it includes streamlining financial expenditures.”
-Ask the Minister of Employment. 270,000 jobs are created as a result of the emergency employment countermeasures, and criticisms have often arisen for the existing employment countermeasures due to the large number of public workers focused on simple workers. Are there any improvements to this?
(Lee Jae-gap, Minister of Employment) “Emergency employment measures include the creation of 275,000 jobs. However, not all of these 275,000 are direct job programs. Out of 275,000, the government pays the full cost of labor costs. There are 148,000 direct job programs, and the remaining number are employment incentives and start-up support programs that support employment in the private sector.
And even in the case of direct job projects where the government pays the full amount of labor costs, in the case of jobs included in this emergency employment countermeasure, the current employment situation is due to the third re-proliferation of Corona, and employment is mainly for temporary and daily workers engaged in the face-to-face service industry. In consideration of the decline, a job program was organized. In consideration of the Corona 19 situation, we organized the business by selecting jobs that are essential in relation to the corona situation, such as quarantine, safety, and childcare, but are not created in the private sector.”
-When the government announced the budget proposal, the management fiscal balance was used as a representative figure in the financial summary table. In the table of the 2021 budget announced in September last year, the managed fiscal balance was also indicated as the fiscal balance. On December 2, 2020, from the press release of the National Assembly budget bill, only the consolidated fiscal balance was suddenly displayed in the financial summary table. In the financial summary table of the first supplementary draft for 2021, only the consolidated fiscal balance was indicated. Has the representative fiscal balance changed? If so, what is the reason.
(Ando-geol, head of the budget office of the Ministry of Finance) “It is time to change the standards. The integrated fiscal balance is currently used internationally. However, due to special circumstances in the past, we have created a separate managed fiscal balance. There are four missing areas: National Pension, Private School Teachers’ Pension, Employment Insurance, and Workers’ Compensation Insurance These insurances were in a state where premiums continued to accumulate and salaries did not increase significantly during the period of high growth, so it is necessary to continue to pay a surplus and manage them. There was no.
In recent years, the situation has changed completely. Employment insurance benefits are rising more rapidly now than insurance premiums. So it became a situation where Suzy had to be managed very sensitively. In line with that, the policy management target balance index was also changed. And why don’t you introduce the fiscal rule this time? Mid- to long-term fiscal management and international comparison are very important, and in this respect, we decided to use the integrated fiscal balance as a representative indicator.”
-There is a talk that the ruling party will increase the amount related to the supplementary bill. How will you respond to the deliberation of the National Assembly?
(Ando-geol, head of the budget office of the Ministry of Finance) “In the process of making the government proposal, we discussed more closely with the party than ever before. We made an effort to reflect the demands of the field that the party conveyed. There will certainly be additional discussions at the deliberation stage of the National Assembly. I see, but I will respond well at that time.”
-I know that the Ministry of Information and Transportation is operating a TF for an income determination system for subdividing the type of support and for elaborate screening. What has the TF identified so far? Is there anything reflected this time?
(Ando-geol, head of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Finance) “The government is running a TF right now. Damage support needs to be institutionalized. Related ministries such as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry are doing it now, and we discussed a lot there. Various things caught there. The good ideas have been used a lot in the extra budget this time as well. We classified them into these five types and classified them in more detail according to the severity of the damage, and we considered a lot of reasons for them by differentiating them from 5 million won to 1 million won in the unit cost of support.”