(LEAD) Rival parties agree on revising bill to ease comprehensive real estate tax burden

(ATTN: UPDATES with parliamentary vote schedule in 3rd para)

SEOUL, Sept. 1 (Yonhap) -- The ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party agreed Thursday to revise a bill to ease tax burdens on those owning only one home as part of efforts to improve people's financial situations, officials said.

Under the revision bill, long-term owners of one home will be allowed to postpone payment of the comprehensive real estate holding tax and those who own two homes temporarily will be considered as single householders.

The rival parties plan to pass the bill through the National Assembly on Wednesday next week as Thursday's parliamentary legislative committee meeting was canceled.

The parties, however, failed to reach a consensus on details on raising the tax base and providing a special tax deduction.

The comprehensive real estate holding tax was introduced as a means to have those rich pay more taxes.

But the government and the PPP have been pushing to overhaul the tax scheme as soaring home prices and tax rate hikes made under the previous administration led to an increase in the number of people subject to the tax.

The tax currently is levied on owners of a single home with a value exceeding 1.1 billion won (US$814,000), and the ruling party has been calling for raising the base to 1.4 billion won to exempt more people from taxation.

If the bill is passed, more than 90,000 people are expected to enjoy tax benefits, according to Rep. Park Dae-chul, a PPP lawmaker who chairs the parliamentary finance committee.

nyway@yna.co.kr
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