By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

A parliamentary subpanel on Friday passed a revision of the Income Tax Law to levy taxes on bribes that are found to have been taken by politicians or public officials.

Under the revision, politicians and public officials who receive money as bribes or for influence-peddling are subject to pay income tax on the bribes. Currently, bribes for politicians and officials are not the subjects of taxation.

``The current law is so unfair in that ordinary people are subject to pay taxes on bribes they take, but politicians are not,’’ said Rep. Song Young-gil of the ruling Uri Party who served as a member of the subpanel of the National Assembly’s Finance-Economy Committee.

The Supreme Court has already ruled that bribes and income from influence-peddling are subject to taxation, despite confiscation or penalty tax, he said.

The unicameral legislature is expected to pass the revision at a plenary session scheduled for Monday.

``The revision corresponds to demands of the public who wants `better and cleaner’ politics,’’ said Rep. Sim Sang-jeong of the minor opposition Democratic Labor Party (DLP), who initiated the revision. Sim also worked as member of the subcommittee.

Meanwhile, an ad hoc advisory committee on political reform under the National Assembly speaker said that it is considering revising the Political Fund Law to allow individuals or supporter groups to donate up to 300 million won ($300 million) to a lawmaker a year.

The move came only one year after the committee revised the rules governing political fund-raising to prohibit individuals or supporter groups form donating more than 150 million won to a legislator a year, as part of efforts to curb corruption. Under the current law, corporations are banned from giving contributions to lawmakers and political parties. It also bans political parties from running local chapters.

Some lawmakers have complained of the law, saying it is too ``harsh’’ and fails to reflect the political reality, restricting political activities due to a lack of money.

But civic groups and the DLP criticized the move to raise the ceiling on individual donations for ``turning back the clock of political reform.’’

The ceiling on supporters associations’ donations to parties’ head offices is expected to remain at five billion won, Kim Kwang-ung, chairman of the advisory committee, said.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr