"The government's tax reform plan is killing Gangnam-gu residents."
That was the blunt complaint from a Gangnam-gu resident identified only as B, responding to the government's proposed tax overhaul. The resident argued it was unacceptable to announce a reform that would inflict such heavy losses on ordinary taxpayers.
Acting on that sentiment, Gangnam-gu — led by District Mayor Kim Hyeon-gi — collected 1,208 resident opinions on the government's 2026 tax reform plan. After expert review, the district submitted six major policy recommendations to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Wednesday.
The district accepted public comments from Aug. 12 through Aug. 18. Of the submissions, 918 concerned the comprehensive real estate tax and 290 addressed the capital gains tax. On the comprehensive real estate tax, many residents called for maintaining the current "fair market value ratio" — the rate applied to the publicly assessed price when calculating the tax — or adjusting it gradually, rather than raising it from 60 percent to 70 percent as proposed.
Concerns were also raised about a plan to raise the annual tax burden cap from 150 percent to 200 percent, with residents warning the change could cause a sharp and sudden increase in their tax bills. On a proposal to apply different basic deductions for single-home owners depending on whether they actually live in the property, many residents said the rules should fully account for unavoidable reasons for non-residency, such as overseas postings, caring for family members or displacement during reconstruction.
On the capital gains tax side, the most common demand was that periods when residents must vacate their homes for reconstruction or redevelopment be counted as actual residency. Residents also said cases where people leave their homes involuntarily — such as overseas assignments, extended medical treatment, or childcare and family caregiving duties — should be given adequate consideration. There were also calls to partially recognize existing ownership periods for long-term homeowners and to give them sufficient time to prepare before any new rules take effect.
The six policy recommendations submitted to the ministry are: abolishing or raising the 1 billion won capital gains tax deduction cap for long-term residents; recognizing existing long-term ownership periods and allowing an adequate transition period; broadly recognizing unavoidable periods of non-residency, including those caused by reconstruction and redevelopment, overseas postings, extended medical treatment, and childcare or family caregiving; easing the conditions for deferring comprehensive real estate tax payments for elderly and long-term owner-occupiers with a single home; narrowing the tax burden gap between single-home owners who hold the property jointly with a spouse and those who hold it in one name; and phasing in changes to property holding taxes and capital gains taxes together so that the overall tax burden does not increase sharply all at once.
The district said the rules need to be refined to protect the trust of residents who have held a single home for decades in reliance on the existing system, and to ensure that people are not penalized for periods of non-residency beyond their control. The district plans to monitor the government and National Assembly's legislative process and work to have its recommendations reflected in the final legislation.
"The fact that more than 1,200 opinions were submitted shows how much attention our residents are paying to this tax reform plan," District Mayor Kim said. "Taxes must be something taxpayers can accept, and people must be able to predict in advance how much they will owe."
Kim added that the district had faithfully conveyed residents' on-the-ground concerns "so that excessive tax reform does not impose unexpected burdens on residents," and expressed hope that "the system will be improved in a way that residents can trust and that ensures fairness among taxpayers."
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