S. Korean government seeks to reform inheritance and gift tax system

입력 2023. 1. 31. 12:18 수정 2023. 2. 28. 14:27
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S. Korean government seeks to reform inheritance and gift tax system [Image source: Gettyimagesbank]
South Korea will reform the inheritance and gift taxation framework to reflect aging trends and asset growth, as it has been somewhat outdated without any changes for 23 years.

There is also growing public criticism that the older generation’s net assets, which increased by some 3,600 trillion won ($2.9 billion) last year, are a hindrance to the flow of assets between generations.

The reform aims to lower the tax burden to a more reasonable level and a dedicated government unit will be installed within the Ministry of Economy and Finance sometime next month at the earliest, said both the finance ministry and the Ministry of Interior on Monday. Reform in the inheritance and gift tax is one of the key tax policy goals sought by the current administration.

Tax on some property that is seen to be overly burdensome will also be reformed, including those on individuals with more than one home that pay up to 75 percent of their capital gains.

“The finance and interior ministries are working on the launch of a dedicated tax reform unit. When launched, the new unit will be tasked with updating the taxation framework,” one senior government official said. The inheritance and gift taxation reform had been previously handled by the finance ministry’s property tax bureau.

The first task of the new government unit will be to reform the inheritance tax framework. Under the new framework, the tax will only be levied on the inherited assets received by the heir, not on the entire inheritance handed down. The rate will be calculated after the entire asset is divided by the number of heirs, which may ease individual tax burdens. Korea has been maintaining an estate tax that first taxes the entire asset being handed down, and then allows it to be divided among heirs.

In other countries, however, inheritance tax received by an individual is more common. Among 23 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that have some kind of duties at death, only four have an estate tax system, including Korea, the U.S., the U.K. and Denmark. The highest taxation rate on estates and gifts at the moment in Korea remains at 50 percent, since it was amended in 2000 from the previous 45 percent. The rate on an estate is the second highest among OECD members, following Japan at 55 percent. The Korean government is reviewing to increase the current personal exemption cap of 50 million won.

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