Rep. Yu Kyung-jun: "1 in 5 Seoul Homeowners Pays Comprehensive Real Estate Tax"

View of Seoul apartments from 63 Square. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] It has been analyzed that about one in five homeowners in Seoul will pay the comprehensive real estate holding tax (종부세) this year. The proportion of people paying the 종부세 has sharply increased since the inauguration of the Moon Jae-in administration due to the surge in housing prices.

According to Yoo Kyung-joon, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee from the People Power Party, the number of individual taxpayers excluding corporations among the 종부세 payers for housing in Seoul (based on the number of notices issued) was identified as 470,745. This figure was estimated by applying the average proportion of individual 종부세 payers in Seoul from 2017 to 2019 to the total number of notices issued this year, including corporations.

Based on the Statistics Korea housing ownership statistics, Representative Yoo estimated that the number of homeowners in Seoul this year is 2,537,466. This estimate considered the average annual increase rate of housing units from 2017 to 2020 and the ratio of homeowners to the number of housing units.

Based on this calculation, the proportion of homeowners in Seoul who pay the 종부세 is 18.6%. This means that about one in five people who own a house in Seoul are subject to the 종부세 this year.

The ratio of 종부세 payers to homeowners in Seoul increased every year from 6.2% in 2016, just before the Moon Jae-in administration took office, to 7.5% in 2017, 8.7% in 2018, and 11.5% in 2019. In particular, with the recent sharp rise in real estate prices over the past one to two years, the ratio of 종부세 payers to homeowners in Seoul rose to 15.2% last year and is approaching 20% this year.