The following are key points of the 2015 budget proposal endorsed by the government on Thursday.
Along with its spending plan, the government also gave estimates on revenue collection and mid-term fiscal management plans.
Spending:
- Expand 2015 spending by 5.7 percent to 376 trillion won ($361 billion)
- 115.5 trillion won on health, welfare and labor, an increase of 8.5 percent from 2014
- 53 trillion won on education, up 4.6 percent
- 18.8 trillion won on research and development, up 5.9 percent
- 24.4 trillion won on social overhead capital, up 3 percent
- 37.6 trillion won on national defense, up 5.2 percent
- 16.9 trillion won on public safety, up 7.1 percent
Revenue:
- Collect 382.7 trillion won in total revenue next year, up 3.6 percent from 2014
- 221.5 trillion won in total national taxes, up 2.3 percent
- 57.5 trillion won in income taxes, up 5.7 percent
- 46.1 trillion won in corporate taxes, up 0.1 percent
- 58.9 trillion won in value added taxes, up 0.8 percent
- 10 trillion won in tariffs, down 5.1 percent Mid- and long-term fiscal management plan:
- Reduce fiscal deficit to 1 percent of gross domestic product by 2018
- Keep national debt at 36.3 percent of gross domestic product in 2018
(Yonhap)