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Visitor's Environment Tax: A New Form of Taxing Scheme or Effective Preservation Measure? |
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Visitor's Environment Tax: A New Form of Taxing Scheme or Effective Preservation Measure? Hello ladies and gentleman, this is the ambassador of South Korea. Just like USA, where primaries and caucuses are currently being held, Korea is waiting for the general election, which is scheduled to happen in next April. Many candidates have proposed various pledges, ranging from economy to environment, but the policy mentioned in Jeju Island is attracting a large interest. Jeju Island, sometimes referred as Hawaii of Korea, is a major tourist attraction, and attracts both domestic and international tourists due to its UNESCO-certified natural heritage. It has peculiar scenic view of volcanic mountains and subtropical flora. Just as many natural heritage sites do, Jeju has been recently suffering from increasing amount of natural hazards, including trash material from tourists.   Jeju island So, one of the congressional candidates suggests that the island administration must collect 'natural preservation tax' from incoming visitors. As most of the natural hazards are caused by external visitors, he believes that they must be responsible for the financial impact that might burden the island authorities. Opponents insists that the tax fee is fixed no matter how much garbage the tourists incur during their stay. As of the current plan, the fee is set to 1000 won (about $1) per visitor. For the opponents, the new fee does not seem to be a real incentive for the tourists to finally reduce the amount of trash they leave at the natural heritage. Anyway to conclude, it is evident that the people must be responsible for the damage they cause to the environment in any means. It could be either through complicated governmental measures or through voluntary practice, but acknowledging each person's duty to the environment is a necessary start.
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5 Comments
Jeju island, Dokdo Island too I have read many articles about them and that Japan want to take them. no wonder with this beauty and the natural preservation. keep it up South Korea :)
Posted 14-02-2016 02:57
Imposing tax on environmental damage will only reduce undesired behavior but also raise money for financing government project. I really hope that the tax is implemented effectively so that people are highly discouraged from littering. And this tax revenue should also be used for government projects which conserve the environment as well.
Posted 12-02-2016 21:52
Wow! 'natural preservation tax' from incoming visitors sounds amazing. I am so happy that the political leaders are pledging for environmental prosperity. I believe taxes can be an effective tool in reducing the amount of trashes discarded by visitors in Jeju Island.
Thank you for reporting dear Chae :)
Posted 12-02-2016 12:04
Great idea.. 'tax' means caring or responsibility. So everyone who wanna enjoy the beautiful scenery of environment should have a duty in saving or maintaining the environment by giving 'tax'
Posted 12-02-2016 11:29
I like the idea of collecting 'natural preservation tax' from incoming visitors. While taxes and laws are on one side, fulfilling our social and environmental responsibility is upto us and we must fuflill it. Thanks for reporting.
Posted 12-02-2016 01:08