Park starts to describe her economic philosophy

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Park starts to describe her economic philosophy

Published: 20 Sep. 2011, 22:42

Park Geun-hye, former Grand National Party chairwoman, proposed yesterday a so-called 6-4 principle for managing the nation’s finances, through which the government can enhance its fiscal soundness by reducing wasteful spending more than it increases taxes.

Although she has touched on individual economic policies in the past, such as welfare, this was the first time the frontrunner in the upcoming presidential election described a fiscal policy.

At the parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Park said she had looked at examples of countries that improved their financial conditions and concluded that 60 percent of the effort came from spending restructuring, while the other 40 percent was accounted for by tax increases.

“It is like ordinary households attempting to reduce spending and increase revenues when they are faced with growing debts,” Park said.

She even asked Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan, present at the audit, which sectors should be the first to have their spending restructured.

An aide of Park said the 6-4 principle will be a basis for her policies if she becomes the country’s leader.

“An important message regarding raising fiscal resources has been cast,” said Choi Kyung-hwan, a GNP member of the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee, who is one of Park’s close aides.

At the audit, Park also came up with a specific plan for cutting government spending.

“The spending restructuring is possible by slashing 10 percent of all discretionary spending except for welfare or obligatory spending, and also off social infrastructure investment,” she said.

On increasing tax revenues, she said preferential tax treatment such as tax exemptions should be minimized, saying they benefit high-income earners more than low-income earners.

She also suggested that the government come up with a basic tax policy guideline and revise it every three or five years to ensure more efficient management of tax revenue and spending.

Elaborating on her remarks regarding social infrastructure spending in a post-audit meeting with reporters, Park said she thinks the current government investment in social infrastructure is at an excessive level, which some analysts interpreted as a criticism of the Lee Myung-bak administration’s four-rivers restoration project.

By Shin Yong-ho, Moon Gwang-lip [joe@joongang.co.kr]

한글 관련 기사 [중앙일보]

박근혜 “복지 재원, 낭비 줄여 60% 세입 늘려 40%”

박근혜 전 한나라당 대표가 20일 국가 재원 마련 방안과 관련해 ‘6 대 4 원칙’을 제시했다. 세출 구조조정을 통한 국가재원 조달 비율을 60%로 하고, 나머지 40%는 세입 증가를 통해 재원을 마련하겠다는 입장을 밝힌 것이다. 국회 기획재정위원회 소속인 박 전 대표는 기획재정부에 대한 국정감사에서 “해외 각국의 재정 건전화 성공사례를 보면 세출 구조조정과 세입 증가를 6대 4로 하는 게 바람직한 것 같다” 고 말했다.

박 전 대표 측 관계자는 “6대4 원칙에는 세금을 더 걷는 것보다 세금 낭비를 줄여 재원을 마련하겠다는 박 전 대표의 의지가 담겼다”고 말했다. 박 전 대표는 “향후 복지 수요 대응 방향으로 지출과 세입 균형이 중요하다. 복지 지출, 의무 지출을 제외한 재량 지출은 일괄적으로 10%를 축소하고, SOC 예산에서 추가로 10%를 줄이는 것 등으로 세출 구조조정이 가능하다”고 했다. 그는 또 “세입 증대를 위해서는 비과세 감면을 축소하는 게 중요하다”고 말했다. 오전 질의를 끝낸 박 전 대표에게 기자들이 ‘SOC 지출 감소는 현 정부에서 하는 SOC를 말하는 것이냐’고 묻자 “그렇다”고 답했다. 그래서 이명박 정부의 대표적 SOC 사업인 4대 강 정비에 대해 비판적인 시각을 드러낸 것 아니냐는 관측이 나왔다.