Busan chamber hosts meeting with regional tax chief

The Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted a meeting Monday afternoon with Oh Sang-hoon, head of the Busan Regional Tax Office, at the chamber's international conference hall, drawing about 30 local business leaders and industry representatives.

The meeting was organized to convey the tax-related difficulties facing regional businesses to the tax authorities and to discuss practical support measures that could ease the burden on companies.

The Busan Regional Tax Office outlined the direction of its tax administration operations and briefed attendees on tax support programs for small and midsize enterprises, sharing plans to help stabilize business operations and invigorate the local economy.

The chamber presented four tax and administrative reform proposals: easing audit burdens on compliant small and midsize businesses, expanding outreach sessions on tax support programs, introducing differentiated corporate and wage income tax rates for non-Greater Seoul regions, and conveying regional views on proposed reforms to the family business inheritance deduction.

Beyond the chamber's formal proposals, local business leaders in attendance also raised a range of tax difficulties they face on the ground and discussed possible remedies.

Yang Jae-saeng, chairman of the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said regional companies must be able to invest and hire with confidence, and that tax administration plays a crucial role in enabling that. "I ask the Busan Regional Tax Office to pay special attention to ensuring that businesses with strong compliance records can focus on their operations, and that local companies that have built up their technology and client networks over decades can pass them on to the next generation," he said.

Oh said the office would work actively to support local businesses struggling amid domestic and external risks, adding that it aimed to become a tax agency that is fair, rational and prepared for the future.