Start Date
23-11-1988 12:30 PM
End Date
23-11-1988 2:30 PM
Description
Land taxation in Korea, as is common with many other countries, consists of property taxes and taxes imposed at the time of transaction such as capital gains tax, acquisition tax, and registration tax. Traditionally, Korea's land taxation system has been characterized by its heavier reliance on transfer taxes of properties than on property taxes and its higher imposition of effective tax rates on land improvements than on land itself. Therefore, the current land taxation system has resulted in the encouragement to either hold or to underuse the land and distort the efficient supply of land in the market. Recently, however, a new type of property tax has been instituted in Korea. It is called "excessive land holding tax" and will be effective as of September 1988. The salient feature of this new scheme of property tax is that it levies taxes against each individual rather than each parcel. Taxes are imposed on the basis of the total sum of land owned by each individual. The obvious rationale of this new tax is, as the name indicates, to discourage excessive land holdings for the speculative purpose and to facilitate land supply in the market. It can prevent, at least conceptually, land speculators from holding a large amount of land in small, separate parcels at many different locations. The primary purpose of the paper is fourfold: 1. To overview a historical background of the development of land taxation system in Korea, 2. To analyze its incidences and impacts, 3. To explore the nature and anticipated problems of the recently instituted "excessive land holding tax", and finally 4. To suggest possible alternatives for more effective land taxation system in Korea.
Publication Date
November 1988
Recommended Citation
Kim, Hyun-Sik, "Land taxation in Korea with specific reference to comprehensive land tax" (1988). International Research Symposium. 5.
https://researchexchange.iaao.org/irs/irs88/sessions/5
Land taxation in Korea with specific reference to comprehensive land tax
Land taxation in Korea, as is common with many other countries, consists of property taxes and taxes imposed at the time of transaction such as capital gains tax, acquisition tax, and registration tax. Traditionally, Korea's land taxation system has been characterized by its heavier reliance on transfer taxes of properties than on property taxes and its higher imposition of effective tax rates on land improvements than on land itself. Therefore, the current land taxation system has resulted in the encouragement to either hold or to underuse the land and distort the efficient supply of land in the market. Recently, however, a new type of property tax has been instituted in Korea. It is called "excessive land holding tax" and will be effective as of September 1988. The salient feature of this new scheme of property tax is that it levies taxes against each individual rather than each parcel. Taxes are imposed on the basis of the total sum of land owned by each individual. The obvious rationale of this new tax is, as the name indicates, to discourage excessive land holdings for the speculative purpose and to facilitate land supply in the market. It can prevent, at least conceptually, land speculators from holding a large amount of land in small, separate parcels at many different locations. The primary purpose of the paper is fourfold: 1. To overview a historical background of the development of land taxation system in Korea, 2. To analyze its incidences and impacts, 3. To explore the nature and anticipated problems of the recently instituted "excessive land holding tax", and finally 4. To suggest possible alternatives for more effective land taxation system in Korea.