South Korea has scrapped the implementation of a proposed widening of capital gains tax on foreign buyers of Seoul stocks, the finance ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. "(Capital gains tax regulations on foreigners) will be reviewed again this year with revisions in South Korea's withholding tax system," the statement said.
Tuesday's decision comes after Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said last week that the government may delay the implementation of a proposed widening of its capital gains tax on foreign investors, a measure strongly opposed by some investors.
In its annual tax code revision in August 2017, South Korea said it was seeking to extend the tax base to take in more foreign investors and larger shareholders.
The August 2017 draft proposed to lower the ownership threshold at which the capital gains tax on listed securities transactions took effect to 5 percent from the current 25 percent of outstanding shares in the issuer.