종합부동산세법의 헌법 위반·불합치 결정에 관한 법리적 평가

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The Constitutional Court judged the comprehensive real estate tax partly unconstitutional on Nov. 13, 2008. Comprehensive real estate tax has been imposed on owners with properties worth about 600 million won, starting from 2005.The Constitutional Court ruled that a provision of the law governing the comprehensive real estate tax, which levies the tax on the combined value of all the properties held by the members of the same household, is unconstitutional. The court also ruled that a second provision, which requires people who own a home, regardless of the purpose or period of ownership, to pay the comprehensive real estate tax, violates the Constitution. The court also ruled that other parts of the tax are constitutional, such as issues related to double taxation and an excessive tax burden.The purpose of the legislation can be accepted because it attempts to avoid tax evasion and impose taxes on actual living conditions. However, gifts given among family members cannot be viewed as tax evasion, and other taxes could sufficiently block any moves to avoid taxes.Moreover, the real estate tax is likely to restrain the free transaction of real estates, because people should pay extra tax when the sum of real estate is above 600 million won.According to the Constitutional Court’s decision the current rates for the comprehensive real estate tax, 1-3 percent, was reduced to 0.5-1 percent. The government also was reduced taxes for the elderly who have only one home by 10-30 percent.