Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Assemblyman Lim Kwang-hyun proposed a discussion on inheritance tax to Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, on the 23rd.
On this day, Lee wrote on his Facebook, "If the ruling party is truly confident and righteous, then let's have a public debate on inheritance tax, rather than spreading lies behind the scenes," and asked, "Do they still have lingering thoughts about the tax cut for the ultra-rich?"
He added, "If there is room for a tax cut for the ultra-rich, let's first normalize the excesses of earned income tax that have unjustly increased."
Assemblyman Lim also suggested an inheritance tax discussion to Kweon, stating, "The People Power Party and the government have already raised the family business inheritance deduction to 600 billion won and significantly relaxed the maximum shareholder premiums," and noted, "Where in the world is there a deduction of 600 billion won for personal taxes?"
He remarked, "Are there middle-class and low-income earners who benefitted from the deduction?" and conveyed, "It has been said that the number of large bakery cafes in the outskirts of Seoul has recently more than doubled in pursuit of a 600 billion won tax saving."
He emphasized, "However, the People Power Party wants to lower the maximum inheritance tax rate, abolish the maximum shareholder premium altogether, and raise the family business inheritance deduction to 1.2 trillion won," stating, "They are only interested in a tax cut for the ultra-rich, which has nothing to do with the general public."
Lim stated, "If last November, the government and legislators from the People Power Party had not insisted on lowering the maximum tax rate, the proposal to alleviate the inheritance tax burden on the middle class would have already passed," and explained, "The British government is considering pushing for inheritance tax reform, noting that Korea's inheritance tax system is exemplary, because the burden increases as one becomes richer."
He said, "While advanced countries want to learn from Korea's inheritance tax system, I want to ask whom the People Power Party is trying to undermine the foundation of the inheritance tax for," adding, "In contrast, the important spouse deduction and general deduction for the public have remained stagnant at 500 million won for 28 years."
He stressed, "In the meantime, the apartment prices in Seoul have quadrupled, and the prices nationwide have tripled," and emphasized, "What is urgently needed now is not a tax cut for the ultra-rich, but a slight adjustment of the inheritance tax burden on the middle class due to rising apartment prices." He asserted, "The inheritance tax that protects a typical family's home, the middle-class home, is necessary," stating, "The Democratic Party is proposing to do just that."
Assemblyman Lim previously submitted a revision bill to raise the current general deduction amount for inheritance tax from 500 million won to 800 million won and increase the minimum amount for spouse inheritance deductions from 500 million won to 1 billion won.