Reduction of contributions by 2 points is set to come earlier

The government is said to be pondering a further social security contribution reduction by about 2 percentage points, against an original plan for 1.09 percentage points in 2020, along with a delay to the reduction of the corporate tax rate from 24 to 20 percent, ahead of the submission of the midterm fiscal plan for 2021-2024 in April.

The speedier cut of social security contributions will be among the measures included in the midterm plan provided the necessary fiscal space can be secured. The reason the government is considering such a move is that it will benefit all enterprises - and not just those making profits - and will also favor salaried labor, which is something it wants to encourage.

The initial plan had provided for a total reduction of contributions by 5 percentage points through 2023, starting with a 0.9-percentage point reduction in the second half of...