Inheritance tax records show inequality

By Kim Jae-won

Inheritance tax is pulling in a growing amount of revenue for the state coffers, the National Tax Service (NTS) said Tuesday.

Although the tax is used to redistribute wealth, a breakdown of its revenue makeup is more of an indicator of how the rich get richer from generation to generation.

Inheritance tax is levied on an individual’s estates when they die. A total of 4,340 taxpayers paid inheritance tax in 2009 and their inherited assets combined for a value of 8.3 trillion won (about $7.4 billion) in 2009, up 1 trillion won from the value of possessions inherited the previous year.

About 3,000 of the taxpayers, accounting for 70 percent of the total, were passed on assets worth 2 billion or less and their inherited possessions combined for 2.57 trillion won in value. However, the remaining 1,290 who inherited assets worth more than 2 trillion won were taking over possessions worth a combined 5.76 trillion won, or nearly 70 percent of the total value of inherited assets that year.

Nearly 80 percent of the deceased who left behind taxable possessions in 2009 were men. Residents in Seoul took over more than half of the inherited assets by value, showing that the country’s distribution of wealth is still predominantly concentrated toward men living in bigger urban areas.

When combining the wealth inherited by Seoul residents to those of taxpayers living in Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, their portion of inherited wealth accounted for 80 percent of the total.
"Seoul, male and real estate are three key words, which define Korea’s inheritance tendency. This is a reflection of the economic realities of our society," an NTS official said.

Real estate accounted for around 68 percent of the inherited assets, with land accounting for 3.4 trillion won and buildings accounting for 2.3 trillion won. Savings and insurance holdings amounted to 1.3 trillion won, while stocks were worth 879.9 billion won.

Under the country’s inheritance tax law, those inheriting less than 100 million won worth in possessions are required to pay 10 percent of the value in tax. For those taking over possessions worth between 100 million won and 500 million won, they are required to pay 20 percent of the value plus an extra 10 million won.

상속재산으로본 소득격차

상속세가 국가 재정 수입 증가에 기여하고 있다고 국세청이 화요일 밝혔다.

상속세는 부의 재분배를 목적으로 하는 세금이다. 하지만 세입 내용을 구체적으로 살펴보면, 상속세가 부의 세대간 대물림이 어떤 식으로 진행되는지 보여주는 지표가 되기도 한다.

상속세는 사람이 죽을 때 개인의 재산에 부여되는 세금이다. 2009년 한해 동안 총 4,340명의 납세자가 8.3조원에 상당하는 재산을 상속했고, 이에 대해 상속세를 납부했다. 이는 전년 대비 1조원 상승한 수치다.

전체 상속세 납부자의 70%에 해당하는 약 3,000명의 납세자가 20억 미만의 재산을 유산으로 남겼다. 이들의 총 상속액은 2.57조에 달했다. 하지만 20억 이상을 상속한 나머지 1,290명은 전체 상속액의 70%에 해당하는 총 5.76조원을 유산으로 받았다.

2009년에 유산을 상속한 사람의 80% 정도는 남성이었다. 또한 서울 거주자가 총 상속액의 절반 이상을 유산으로 받았다. 이는 부의 분배가 여전히 대도시에 사는 남성에게 집중돼 있음을 보여준다.

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