Single-homeowners bear nearly half of property tax hike: report

Nearly half of the increase in South Korea's comprehensive real estate holding tax (Jongbuse) last year came from single-homeowners, highlighting a significant shift in the tax's impact. The total tax collected rose by 221.3 billion won, with single-homeowners contributing an additional 109.3 billion won, representing 49.4% of the increase.

Furthermore, single-homeowners constituted the majority of new taxpayers, accounting for 64.8% of the 83,108 individuals newly subject to the tax. This trend suggests that the government's previous policies, which often favored those with fewer properties, are being re-evaluated.

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The increase in the decision amount for single-homeowners was 109.3 billion won, accounting for 49.4% of the total increase.

The data, analyzed from National Tax Service statistics, also indicates that a disproportionate amount of the tax burden falls on a small percentage of high-value property owners. Just 4.66% of taxpayers, those with a taxable asset value exceeding 1.2 billion won, paid nearly half of the total tax collected.

This analysis comes as the government prepares to announce its tax reform plan in early August. There is growing discussion about shifting the focus of the Jongbuse from the number of properties owned to their overall value. Proposals include applying higher tax rates to properties exceeding a certain value, regardless of the owner's total property count, while offering tax benefits based on actual residency. This approach aims to alleviate the burden on ordinary homeowners while increasing the tax on luxury properties.

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Of the taxpayers with a taxable asset value exceeding 1.2 billion won, 4.66% paid half of the tax.