Korea, U.S. to revise taxation accord in 22 yrs

The Korea-U.S. taxation agreement is expected to undergo a major change 22 years after it was first concluded in 1979.

An official of the Ministry of Finance and Economy said Wednesday that the two governments held a working-level meeting on the accord recently and came close to an agreement to revise it. But he refused to comment on specifics of the revision, citing international custom, which bans issues still under negotiations from being unveiled publicly.

However, reports have it that Korea and the United States would probably hold another meeting in June, when the financial committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is to be convened, and initiate a revision of the taxation accord. It was reported that the recent working-level meeting discussed ways to lower taxes on interest, dividend and royalty incomes while imposing taxes on famous U.S. entertainers` Korean performances.

Following the United States, the Finance and Economy Ministry is scheduled to hold working-level meetings on sign or revise taxation agreements with Iran, India, Iceland and the United Arab Emirates.

Kwon Soon-Hwal shkwon@donga.com