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Among the candidates who registered to run for the April 9 National Assembly elections, 27 percent have been found to have paid less than W100,000 (US$1=W989) in income taxes a year. Ten percent of the registered candidates did not pay any income tax. The average annual income tax paid by each Korean was W3.25 million according to 2006 figures. But only 43 percent of the candidates who registered to run paid higher income taxes than the national average.
The public responsibilities of a citizen begin with paying taxes. Yet hordes of people, who have failed to obey that basic responsibility, are seeking to be elected into public office. The most important of the duties of the National Assembly and lawmakers are deciding how much tax revenue should be collected and to ensure that taxes are not spent indiscriminately.
The National Assembly¡¯s budget screening determines how much tax money should be collected from the public. It has become customary for annual budget screenings to be finalized just before the National Assembly session ends through a quick compromise between the ruling and opposition parties. Rather than thoroughly checking why taxpayers¡¯ money has to be spent on such and such a project or area, the opposition party simply calls for a cut in the budget in order to look like they¡¯re doing their jobs, while the ruling party puts on a show of reluctantly accepting this demand. That is the reality facing our parliamentary budget screening process. There is no way of telling whether the National Assembly screens budget settlements, which looks into how taxes have been spent. If honest, hard-working taxpayers are elected into the National Assembly, this would not be happening.
Among the candidates who did not pay taxes, many of them lash back at criticism, saying they wished they were able to pay taxes like other people. Those are lines often used by candidates who were former social activists and seeking to stress the fact that they have no money. But such words are admissions of ignorance regarding the pain, grief and desperation felt by people who have to work hard for their money. The days are long gone when such lines worked. If a candidate was unable to pay even W100,000 in taxes a year, that person should ask himself or herself whether they are capable of executing the duties of a public official.
There is even an increase rather than a decrease in the number of people who want to become lawmakers, even though they don¡¯t pay taxes. During the 2004 general elections, only 17 percent of all registered candidates paid less than W100,000 in income taxes a year. This year, there¡¯s a 10 percentage point rise in the number of such people. If voters had passed judgment on the candidates after scrutinizing their tax records, this would not be happening. A visit to the National Election Commission¡¯s webstite (www.nec.go.kr) displays information on a candidate¡¯s tax payment history, military service, criminal records and wealth. Voters should take a close look at that information before hitting the polling stations.
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