The chief of the ruling Saenuri Party on Thursday expressed reluctance in raising the corporate tax rate which the opposition party has claimed is too low in relation to the government's dwindling welfare budget.
  

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with business leaders, Kim Moo-sung said a hike in the corporate tax rate should be the last resort.
  

"I can't rule it out completely, but it should be the last thing we do," he said. "Even now, business is bad and taxes aren't coming in, so raising taxes further will make the situation worse."
  

South Korea's corporate tax rate on taxable income exceeding 20 billion won ($18.2 million) was lowered from 25 percent to 22 percent during the preceding Lee Myung-bak administration.
  

The main opposition party, New Politics Alliance for Democracy, has demanded the rate be "normalized" to protect the income of ordinary wage earners.
  

In recent months, the government has raised tobacco prices, pushed to reform civil service pensions and introduced a revised tax settlement scheme, all of which critics argue are designed to squeeze more money out of the working class.
  

Instead of a tax hike, Kim proposed reducing redundant spending and adjusting expenditures.
  

"Welfare without tax hikes" was one of President Park Geun-hye's key slogans during the 2012 election campaign. Her administration has since been dogged by questions about whether it will be able to implement all of the expensive welfare projects she promised without raising taxes. (Yonhap)