Rep. Yang Hyang-ja: "Tax Enforcement on Inheritance and Gifts for Minors Must Be Thorough"

Minor Rental Income Reaches 55 Billion Won in 2018

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] In 2018 alone, rental income earned by minors reached 55 billion KRW, marking an all-time high. Babies aged 0 to 1, who have not even started walking, earned an average rental income of 14 million KRW.

According to an analysis of the 'Rental Income Status by Age of Minors' data submitted by the National Tax Service to Representative Yang Hyangja (Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangju Seo-gu Eul), a total of 6,990 minors (aged 18 and under) earned rental income over the past three years. The total rental income amounted to 143.4 billion KRW.

The number of minors with rental income increased by 42%, from 1,891 in 2016 to 2,684 in 2018, while their total rental income rose by 44%, from 38.079 billion KRW to 54.886 billion KRW over three years.

Looking at the details, the number of minors with rental income increased as follows: preschool children (aged 0-6) rose 87% from 183 in 2016 to 342 in 2018; elementary school students (aged 7-12) increased 47% from 595 to 873; and middle and high school students (aged 13-18) grew 32% from 1,113 to 1,469. Rental income among preschool children is showing a significant upward trend.

Even 'gold spoon babies' aged 0 to 1, who have not yet started walking, earned rental income, with 27 babies in 2018 generating a total of 391 million KRW. This means an average rental income of 14.48 million KRW per baby.

Representative Yang Hyangja stated, “The increase in rental income among minors is believed to be largely influenced by early inheritance and gifts,” adding, “It is necessary for the National Tax Service to conduct thorough investigations and monitoring to ensure that tax enforcement on inheritance and gifts to minors is carried out fairly and properly.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.