Gyeonggi Province Extends Regional Development Bond Exemption Benefits Through End of Year

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Hong Sung-gil] The exemption benefits for regional development bond purchases by Gyeonggi Province, which were scheduled to expire at the end of this month, have been extended through the end of this year, allowing Gyeonggi Province residents purchasing vehicles with engine displacement of 2,000cc or less to be exempt from purchasing regional development bonds.

Gyeonggi Province held an Ordinance Review Committee meeting on the 19th and passed the "Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Gyeonggi Province Regional Development Fund Establishment Ordinance" containing these provisions.

Regional development bonds are a quasi-tax that have been issued since 1989 to promote the welfare of residents and finance regional development projects. They must be purchased mandatorily when registering new vehicle purchases, transfers, other permits and registrations, and executing various contracts.

Currently, the province exempts residents from purchasing regional development bonds when purchasing vehicles with engine displacement of 2,000cc or less, and provides a 50% discount on the purchase amount for new vehicles with engine displacement exceeding 2,000cc if the vehicle price is less than 50 million won. New passenger vehicles priced at 50 million won or more, regardless of engine displacement, are excluded from the exemption program.

The ordinance amendment newly established provisions excluding construction contractors convicted of bid-rigging from regional development bond exemption benefits to establish fair competition order.

The province estimates that 1.2924 million cases worth 1.0456 trillion won in regional development bond purchases will be exempted or waived through the end of this year with this ordinance amendment. The projected reduction in residents' financial burden is expected to reach 33.3 billion won.

Oh Tae-seok, Director of Budget of Gyeonggi Province, said "The extension of regional development bond exemptions will ease the burden on low-income earners and small and medium-sized businesses and contribute to recovering depressed consumer sentiment. The decision on whether to provide regional development bond exemptions next year will be made by the end of this year, taking into account future economic conditions and the liquidity of the regional development fund," he added.