"Market Value Assessment for Ultra-High-End Apartments in Inheritance and Gift Tax... 1 Trillion Won Increase in Tax Revenue"

Kang Minsu Announces Plan to Expand Appraisals for Ultra-Luxury Real Estate
Tax Revenue Expected to Increase by Over 1 Trillion Won

Kang Minsu, Commissioner of the National Tax Service (NTS), stated on the 22nd, "Starting this year, residential properties such as ultra-luxury apartments and luxury detached houses will be assessed and taxed at values close to market prices during inheritance and gift tax evaluations, which is expected to increase tax revenue by more than 1 trillion won."

On the same day, Commissioner Kang held a nationwide tax office chiefs meeting at the Government Complex Sejong and announced the '2025 National Tax Administration Operation Plan' containing these details.

Kang Min-su, Commissioner of the National Tax Service, is announcing the '2025 National Tax Administration Operation Plan' at the nationwide tax office chiefs meeting held at the Government Sejong Complex on the 22nd.

Commissioner Kang explained, "In investigations of high-value real estate inheritance and gifts, many taxes were missed due to budget shortages preventing appraisals. To address this, we will expand appraisals for ultra-high-value real estate and block simplified data for dependents exceeding income criteria when providing year-end tax settlement data, thereby continuously expanding the tax base so that everyone can fulfill their rightful tax obligations."

The NTS is focusing on expanding the tax base because tax revenue conditions are difficult. In 2023, tax collections fell short by 56 trillion won compared to expectations, and nearly 30 trillion won in tax shortfalls is expected for last year as well.

Until now, the NTS conducted appraisals only for non-residential properties such as small office buildings. However, this year, the appraisal budget was more than doubled compared to last year, adding ultra-luxury apartments and other residential real estate to the appraisal targets and expanding the appraisal scope. The purpose is to assess real estate at values close to market prices to impose taxes accordingly.

The NTS is also cracking down on employee discount sales, which have caused social controversy when some large corporations provided excessive discounts on purchases such as vehicles to their employees. Commissioner Kang said, "In the past, if an employee bought a luxury car worth 80 million won with a 25% employee discount and paid 60 million won, there was no tax burden. But starting this year, income tax must be paid on the discount amount exceeding the non-taxable limit." He added, "We will execute tax administration in a sound and rational manner without burdening the national economy, further enhancing tax fairness."

Regarding tax investigations, the NTS plans to maintain about 14,000 cases annually, considering internal and external conditions, while managing them flexibly within available manpower and reducing investigations with low practical benefits to improve effectiveness. Commissioner Kang stated, "We will respond strictly and persistently to acts that harm the daily lives of ordinary citizens and market order until just responsibility is assigned. We will also introduce artificial intelligence (AI) and big data into investigation selection to greatly improve fairness and objectivity. Additionally, we will impose enforcement fines on multinational corporations that refuse or delay data submission and strive to establish a legal basis within this year to reward employees with outstanding achievements in assessment and collection."

Finally, Commissioner Kang said, "With a heavy sense of responsibility for the consecutive tax shortfalls, the NTS will faithfully and fairly enforce tax laws and devote all efforts to properly fulfilling its fundamental role of securing national resources without wavering. We will also continuously strive to improve work efficiency and working conditions so that the NTS can be recognized by the public as 'the National Tax Service that does one thing well' this year as well."

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