Yangcheon-gu Airport Noise Countermeasure Area Property Tax Reduction Expanded Up to 60%

Expansion of Property Tax Reduction Beneficiaries and Increase in Substantial Benefits to Be Fully Applied from the Regular July Payment This Year

Original Approval of the ‘Partial Amendment to the Local Tax Reduction Ordinance’ to Expand Local Tax Reduction in Airport Noise Countermeasure Areas

Increase in Reduction Rate for Certain Brackets According to Tax Base for Single-Homehousehold Owners (40→60%)

Foundation Laid for Airport Noise Damage Countermeasures Including Property Tax Reduction, Hearing Precision Tests, and Customized Counseling Psychological Programs

Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Lee Gi-jae) announced on the 15th that the ‘Partial Amendment to the Yangcheon-gu Local Tax Reduction Ordinance’ to expand compensation for property losses of residents in airport noise countermeasure areas was approved as originally proposed at the 300th Yangcheon-gu Council plenary session on the 12th.

As a result, the property tax reduction rate, which was uniformly applied at 40%, is expected to be significantly expanded to up to 60% in certain brackets according to the tax base, greatly increasing the number of beneficiaries.

The reason for expanding the property tax reduction rate is that some areas in Sinwol-dong, where low-priced houses with a tax base of 150 million KRW or less are densely concentrated and noise damage is severe, have not been able to benefit from the local tax reduction ordinance.

In these areas, many cases meet the conditions for the government’s temporary special tax rate of up to 50%, and according to the Local Tax Act, only the higher reduction rate between the government’s property tax special reduction and the local ordinance reduction is applied.

Accordingly, the district revised the ordinance to apply a differentiated reduction rate for property tax benefits according to the tax base as a preemptive measure before the regular property tax levy in July.

According to the revised Article 10 of the ‘Seoul Special City Yangcheon-gu Local Tax Reduction Ordinance,’ single-homehousehold owners in airport noise countermeasure areas (within Yangcheon-gu) designated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, whose tax base under Article 110 of the Local Tax Act is 150 million KRW or less, will receive a 60% reduction on local property tax, and those with a tax base exceeding 150 million KRW will receive a 40% reduction starting this year.

With the application of the revised ordinance, the number of beneficiaries is estimated to increase from about 7,000 households to approximately 24,000 households. The special tax rate reductions implemented by the government (minimum 17.6% to maximum 50%) will be expanded up to 60% under the local tax reduction ordinance, resulting in an actual additional tax cut of more than 10%. However, according to district officials, “Property tax consists of district tax (local property tax), city tax (urban area tax), regional resource facility tax, and local education tax. Since the local tax reduction ordinance only applies to the district tax portion of the property tax, the actual amount of reduction felt by residents may seem small.”

They added, “Despite the limits on the scale of reductions set by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety under the Enforcement Decree of the Local Tax Special Cases Restriction Act when establishing new local tax reductions, the district’s effort to provide the maximum possible tax cut is a demonstration of its commitment to compensating residents for property losses in affected areas. It also lays a significant foundation for requesting additional measures from the central government in the future.”

At the end of last year, Yangcheon-gu not only prevented the reduction of airport noise countermeasure areas due to changes in aircraft measurement units but also increased the number of households by about 450. Furthermore, the district has been steadily pursuing multifaceted compensation for physical and mental damages, including hearing precision tests, customized counseling psychological programs, and the establishment of a district-operated comprehensive airport noise countermeasure support center.

Lee Gi-jae, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, stated, “The purpose of the property tax reduction policy is to provide even a small compensation at the autonomous district level for the suffering of residents.” He added, “I am grateful to the district council members who have deliberated extensively for a long time to revise this ordinance.” He emphasized, “We will continue to make multifaceted efforts so that residents affected by airport noise can receive substantial compensation.”

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