AMCHAM commends Korea's tax reform plan

American Chamber of Commerce in Korea Chairman James Kim, right, shakes hands with President Yoon Suk-yeol at Conrad Seoul in this December 2021 file photo. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-keun

By Park Jae-hyuk

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) expressed its gratitude to the Yoon Suk-yeol administration for proposing a tax reform plan corresponding to requests from foreign businesspeople here.

Last Thursday, the government announced various measures aimed at cutting corporate and income taxes to encourage investment and reduce taxation, including the lowering of the maximum corporate tax rate to 22 percent from 25 percent. The proposal will be submitted to the National Assembly for approval before Sept. 2.

“AMCHAM greatly appreciates the willingness of the Korean government to listen and promptly respond to the concerns and recommendations of AMCHAM and the foreign business community,” AMCHAM Chairman James Kim said.

“I also appreciate that the Korean government has recognized the importance of FDI inducement and shown that they value stakeholder input from the international business community. As the U.S is one of the largest FDI investors in Korea, I believe we could do better with these reform measures in place.”

In April, the AMCHAM Board of Governors delivered a letter to the presidential office detailing several proposals that would improve the business environment in Korea. Containing the signatures of 34 board members, the letter addressed the need to restore the flat tax rate for foreign residents, restructure the inheritance tax obligations on foreign residents, improve the flexibility of employment conditions, mitigate CEO risk and improve the regulatory environment to ensure proactive communication in support of transforming Korea's position as a regional hub in Asia.

“I am seeing more interest than ever from U.S. companies in investing in Korea across all industries. Korea can increase its economic dynamism and become attractive to foreign investors by adjusting to meet global standards,” the AMCHAM chairman said.

“Korea's corporate and individual tax regime could be made much more competitive compared to its peer countries in Asia. In the most recent AMCHAM Fireside Chat event with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, he reiterated his stance on supporting the numerous desires of the AMCHAM business community.”