It was found that more than half of Korea's citizens think high earners should pay more taxes than they do now. By contrast, a majority said taxes for the middle class and for those in difficult circumstances are appropriate at current levels.
On the 17th, according to the results of the "20th Korea Welfare Panel" survey by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA), 56.84% responded that the tax burden on high earners is low. The survey was conducted on a total of 7,300 households.
Specifically, 41.9% answered that the tax level for high earners is quite low, and 14.94% said it is excessively low. In contrast, 24.62% said it is appropriate. Those who said high earners' taxes are quite high accounted for 13.02%, and those who said they are excessively high were 2.01%.
The lower the income level, the more likely respondents were to perceive high earners' taxes as low. Among low-income household members, 19.1% said taxes on high earners are excessively low, higher than the 14.37% among general household members.
Regarding the middle class's tax burden, 54.69% of citizens said it is appropriate. However, those who said it is quite high (32.09%) or excessively high (2.44%) amounted to about one in three. Only 8.46% said the middle class's taxes are low.
As for the low-income group's tax level, 51.26% of citizens viewed it as appropriate. Those who said taxes are high were 28.66%, and those who said they are low were 15.62%.
In particular, among the low-income group, 33.05% thought taxes on the low-income group are high. This is higher than the 28.06% of general household members who thought taxes on the low-income group are high.