About the Abolition of Taxation in People’s Korea -special article by Dr Dermot Hudson

                                                

The 21st of March 1974 is the day that went down in history  for it was the day when People’s Korea abolished taxation . The Supreme People’s Assembly of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea decided as follows ; “1. The tax system, a vestige of the old society, shall be abolished completely,

2. The Administration Council of the DPRK shall take measures to implement this law, and

3. The law shall be effective from April 1, 1974”

This was in accordance with Article 33 of the 1972 Socialist Constitution of the DPRK .

The abolition of taxation in the DPRK had originally been put forward at the 4th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea in  1961 and in 1962 comrade KIM JONG IL gave a talk to students of KIM IL SUNG University titled ‘On Our Party’s People’s Oriented Policy of Ultimately Abolishing the Tax System “.

The DPRK set about the task of abolishing taxation . In the period 1964-1966 peasants were freed from agricultural tax in kind . Only income tax and local authority tax remained , By the 1970s taxes accounted for only a small fraction of state revenue . The DPRK’s far reaching and ambitious social welfare programme was instead funded from the profits of state-owned industry .

Thus in the spring of 1974 the DPRK completely abolished taxation and at the same time reduced prices by 30 per cent on average . A truly epochal measure for raising living standards .When I see the soaring prices in the shops in Britain I often think how wonderful People’s Korea is because it reduced prices instead of putting them up all the time .

 As President KIM IL SUNG said “ The abolition of the tax system in our country is the brilliant victory of the great Juche idea as well as a demonstration of the incomparable advantages of our socialist system which is the embodiment of the Juche idea and the great capability of our socialist independent national economy.

Thanks to the immortal Juche idea and its brilliant victory, our people are being provided with a richer, independent and creative life in the socialist land of happiness, where there is no exploitation, oppression or taxation.”

The abolition of taxation by the DPRK was a truly people-orientated measure which was an example of the Juche Idea in action  . It was a measure that was only possible under the Juche-based , advanced socialist system of the DPRK . 

 

In countries like Britain many people wrongly associate taxation with socialism   largely because they confuse social democracy with socialism when the two are  different things . In Britain  social democratic regimes raised taxes to fund social reforms instead of funding them through the redistribution of income and wealth . Thus workers in capitalist countries in addition to being exploited by capitalist employers were also exploited by the capitalist state .

Now in the UK council tax bills are rising and National Insurance is being increased . When you think of this and the fact that the DPRK abolished taxation long ago  you realise that People’s Korea is a wonderful socialist paradise that gives people virtually free housing but does not tax people .

Dr Dermot Hudson ,

Chairman Korean Friendship Association UK 

Chairman British Group for the Study of the Juche Idea .

President Association for the Study of Songun Politics UK.

Chairman British Solidarity Committee for Peace and Reunification on the Korean Peninsula