Democratic Party Pushes for Complementary Legislation on Gold Investment Tax

Photo = Reporter Choi Hyuk

The Democratic Party of Korea is pushing for complementary legislation to introduce a gold investment tax, despite initial plans to postpone its implementation. The party’s leader, Lee Jae-myeong, has emphasized the need for supplementation before implementation.

According to political circles, the Democratic Party has decided to hold an open debate within the party on the suspension of the gold investment tax. The objective is to arrive at a decision as soon as possible between the party policy and the differences between the members of the standing committee concerned.

Democratic Party lawmaker Lim Kwang-hyun has announced plans to propose a gold investment tax supplemental package bill consisting of six bills. The bill aims to allow direct investment in foreign stocks through an Individual Asset Management Account (ISA) and raise the annual contribution limit from 20 million won to 30 million won.

The bill also plans to raise the basic gold investment tax deduction limit from 50 million won to 100 million won per year and extend the loss carry-forward period. Rep. Lim plans to introduce the bill soon, which has already been discussed at the leadership level.

However, there are criticisms that this policy direction may run counter to the objective of increasing the value of domestic capital markets. Some argue that introducing a non-existent tax on money earned through domestic stocks while lowering the tax on money acquired through foreign stocks is inconsistent with fairness.

In response, an official from Representative Lim Gwang-hyeon’s office explained that the government and the Institute for Taxation and Finance also noted that there is a problem with ISA investment products being limited to Korea. The official emphasized that whether you invest domestically or overseas, if you use the same system, you get the same benefits.

Reporter Jeong Sang-won/Jeong So-ram