Nat'l Assembly passes bill on expanding tax incentives for chipmakers

Lawmakers attend a plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul, Feb. 27. Yonhap

The National Assembly on Thursday passed a bill aimed at supporting the semiconductor industry by giving bigger tax incentives to chipmakers.

The revision to the Act on Restriction of Special Taxation, nicknamed the K-Chips Act, centers on expanding the tax credit rate for companies that make facility investments in national strategic industries, including semiconductors, secondary batteries and future cars.

Under the bill, the tax credit rate for conglomerates will rise to 20 percent from the current 15 percent, while the rate for small and medium-sized businesses will increase to 30 percent from 25 percent.

During the plenary session, the Assembly also passed a bill that extends the applicable period for research and development tax credits for new technologies and national strategic technologies by five years to 2029 and tax credits for semiconductors by seven years to 2031.

The bills will take effect from the date of their promulgation. (Yonhap)