Lawmakers are set to go over next year’s government budget from this Thursday, with a new parliamentary rule setting a tight deadline for legislators to finish the review process by early December.
A 2012 amendment to the National Assembly Act obligates officials to forward the budget bill to a plenary session by Dec. 2 for final voting. The new regulation aims to prevent a budgetary crisis similar to one last year, when the 2014 budget was passed minutes into the New Year. South Korea’s fiscal year begins on Jan. 1.
But partisan wrangling over other bills linked to the budget could delay the 2015 spending plan’s final endorsement, despite the newly imposed deadline.
The Dec. 2 limit compels officials to forward the budget to a full session, not to approve it.
The loophole allows the main opposition party to employ a legislative defense against the governing Saenuri Party, with divisions over proposed tax bills likely to take center stage in the partisan bickering over the budget. The ensuing battle could in turn delay the budget’s approval.
Legislators of the Saenuri Party largely support tax increases on tobacco, a national poll tax, and higher government expenditure. Ruling party officials cite a struggling economy in need of cash. Counterparts in the main opposition party New Politics Alliance for Democracy oppose the increased levies, saying low income earners would be hurt most.
The proposed tax levies will require amendments to bills not subject to the Dec. 2 deadline. An increase in tobacco levies for example, requires revising the National Health Promotion Act.
Revisions to existing laws must go through the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, whose chair reserves the right to block controversial bills from being forwarded to a plenary session, with the key exception of the budget bill.
Right now Rep. Lee Sang-min of the main opposition party is chair of the judiciary committee, suggesting he could block tax amendments from even going to a full session, unless the Saenuri Party agrees to the NPAD’s demands regarding the budget.
If the budget reaches a plenary session without a bipartisan agreement on Dec. 2, the majority Saenuri Party will be left with a tough choice.
The ruling party could either unilaterally pass the budget bill using its superior numbers, or negotiate a compromise with the opposition over the related tax bills.
Analysts say the governing party will likely take the latter approach, since Saenuri officials will need the opposition’s cooperation to pass tax bills such as the increased levy on tobacco.
By Jeong Hunny ()
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
