With the tax law amendment coming into effect this year, income tax is now imposed on the discount benefits for employees. Samsung Electronics has taken steps to cover employee taxes on its own.
According to industry sources on the 10th, Samsung Electronics announced through its company mall FamilyNet notice that "regardless of the tax incurred for some employees due to the tax law amendment, the company plans to cover the taxes." It noted that the 2 million points for FamilyNet, according to the wage and collective agreement, effectively maintains the "employee opportunity."
Samsung Electronics employees can purchase company products at a discount of 10% to 30% up to a limit of 30 million won over a period of two years through FamilyNet.
Hyundai Motor Company and Kia are also expected to address the issue of tax coverage under the revised tax law in future wage and collective negotiations. In the past, Hyundai and Kia employees have received vehicle discount benefits ranging from 8% to 30% when purchasing company cars, depending on their years of service. However, they are not allowed to purchase or resell other vehicles for two years after buying a vehicle.
However, as the revised tax law enforcement decree applies retroactively from this year, employees must pay taxes according to their annual discount rates. Particularly, as the discount rate is higher and more expensive vehicles are purchased, the tax burden may increase.
Earlier, the government specified the discount amounts for company products provided to employees in the tax law amendment, categorizing them as earned income, and established criteria for non-taxable earned income. A non-taxable amount applies up to the greater of 20% of the market price or 2.4 million won annually.