South Korean government set to spend more for underprivileged
- 6 years ago
Staying with the South Korean government's forecast and what's being planned for the second half of the year.
Specific measures to support low-income households and the poorest senior citizens were announced... and our Ko Roon-hee delves deeper into what they are.
As well as discussing economic growth and job creation, the South Korean government also promised to spend more on the underprivileged.
The finance ministry announced on Wednesday that it will expand the number of low-income households eligible for earned income tax credit.
The ministry said some 3.38 billion U.S. dollars will be allocated to income tax credit starting next year-- three times the amount currently spent.
And the number of households eligible will almost double to 3.34 million households.
The ministry is easing conditions to qualify for the support program…such as changing the annual income threshold.
Economic experts say more measures may be needed for long term benefits.
"Policies like increasing income tax refunds are expected to help support domestic consumption and buffer people from the negative effects of the minimum wage hike. But only in the short run. The government has already injected nearly 3.5 billion dollars in the first half of this year to support job creation but it didn't help that much because these measures do not solve the fundamental structural problems in the economy."
And to support the poorest senior citizens, the government said it will raise the basic pension for them starting this year.
People who are aged 65 and older and belong to the bottom 70 percent of the income bracket will receive more than 220-U.S. dollars a month of basic pensions… starting this September.
This is a 35-dollar increase from the current amount.
Meanwhile, to boost consumer spending, the government also lowered the personal consumption tax on automobiles from five percent to 3-point-5 percent, but the reduction will only apply for the rest of the year.
Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News.
Specific measures to support low-income households and the poorest senior citizens were announced... and our Ko Roon-hee delves deeper into what they are.
As well as discussing economic growth and job creation, the South Korean government also promised to spend more on the underprivileged.
The finance ministry announced on Wednesday that it will expand the number of low-income households eligible for earned income tax credit.
The ministry said some 3.38 billion U.S. dollars will be allocated to income tax credit starting next year-- three times the amount currently spent.
And the number of households eligible will almost double to 3.34 million households.
The ministry is easing conditions to qualify for the support program…such as changing the annual income threshold.
Economic experts say more measures may be needed for long term benefits.
"Policies like increasing income tax refunds are expected to help support domestic consumption and buffer people from the negative effects of the minimum wage hike. But only in the short run. The government has already injected nearly 3.5 billion dollars in the first half of this year to support job creation but it didn't help that much because these measures do not solve the fundamental structural problems in the economy."
And to support the poorest senior citizens, the government said it will raise the basic pension for them starting this year.
People who are aged 65 and older and belong to the bottom 70 percent of the income bracket will receive more than 220-U.S. dollars a month of basic pensions… starting this September.
This is a 35-dollar increase from the current amount.
Meanwhile, to boost consumer spending, the government also lowered the personal consumption tax on automobiles from five percent to 3-point-5 percent, but the reduction will only apply for the rest of the year.
Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News.