ID :
183103
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 11:30
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/183103
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea to lift tariffs on LPG imports
SEOUL, May 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will temporarily lift tariffs on imported liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in a bid to ease economic hardship for low- and mid-income earners caused by rising fuel prices, the finance ministry said Thursday.
Currently, a 2 percent tax rate is applied to LPG imports but the rate will be lowered to zero from late May until the end of this year, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
The tax exemption will also be applied to 33 million barrels of crude oil imports used to produce LPG, it added.
The move is expected to help ease price increases of propane and butane, which are used mostly for heating homes and fueling taxis and vehicles owned by physically challenged people, the ministry said.
The tax cut is the latest in a series of government-led price stabilization efforts amid concerns that sky-high energy and food prices might push up living costs for low- and mid-income earners.
South Korea's consumer prices jumped 4.2 percent last month from a year earlier. The price hike slowed from the previous month's 4.7 percent increase but it is still much higher than the government's annual inflation target of 3 percent.
Currently, a 2 percent tax rate is applied to LPG imports but the rate will be lowered to zero from late May until the end of this year, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
The tax exemption will also be applied to 33 million barrels of crude oil imports used to produce LPG, it added.
The move is expected to help ease price increases of propane and butane, which are used mostly for heating homes and fueling taxis and vehicles owned by physically challenged people, the ministry said.
The tax cut is the latest in a series of government-led price stabilization efforts amid concerns that sky-high energy and food prices might push up living costs for low- and mid-income earners.
South Korea's consumer prices jumped 4.2 percent last month from a year earlier. The price hike slowed from the previous month's 4.7 percent increase but it is still much higher than the government's annual inflation target of 3 percent.
