Korea’s top 10 conglomerates may have to pay an additional 1.1 trillion won ($1.06 billion) in taxes under a new tax scheme that aims to make local companies raise their dividend payouts, capital spending and salaries for their workers, data showed.
The Finance Ministry unveiled a set of tax revisions Wednesday to boost domestic demand. Under the new scheme, companies with paid-in capital of 50 billion won or more will be subject to a 10 percent tax on surplus cash when they spend less than 80 percent of net profit on dividends, facility investment and salaries.
According to the data compiled by CEO Score, which tracks the nation’s big business groups, 136 companies affiliated with the top 10 conglomerates will be levied 1.1 trillion won in taxes if they do not meet the government requirements.
Companies that spend less than 70 percent and 60 percent of their net profits would have to pay an additional 730 billion won and 363 billion won in taxes, respectively, the data showed.
