Yoo Seungmin Questions: "Do Tax Bombs on Ultra-High-Priced Homes Help Stabilize Housing for Ordinary People?"

"Punitive Taxation on Non-Owner-Occupied Homes Will Trigger a Rental Crisis"

Yoo Seung-min, former member of the People Power Party, criticized the government’s real estate tax reform plan on the 4th, stating, "Punitive taxes on ultra-high-priced homes and non-owner-occupied properties cannot solve the issues of housing prices and the rental market in the Seoul metropolitan area."

On this day, Yoo stated via social media, "The core of the current real estate problem is the ‘crazy housing prices’ and the rental market situation in the Seoul area, but tax hikes on ultra-high-priced homes will not achieve these policy objectives."

Yoo Seung-min, former member of the People Power Party. Photo by Jin-hyung Kang

He added, "Property holding taxes on ultra-high-priced homes could be increased as a kind of wealth tax," but questioned, "How does punitive property taxation help stabilize housing prices or the rental market, which is what the majority of the middle class and working people want?"

He continued, "If property holding taxes are raised, acquisition taxes and transfer taxes should be lowered so that transactions can take place in the market. However, the government did not touch acquisition taxes, and transfer taxes will actually increase even further after the one- to two-year temporary measures expire," he pointed out.

In particular, he argued that strengthening taxes on non-owner-occupied homes could heighten instability in the rental market. Yoo stated, "It’s questionable whether anyone considered how the market would react if punitive property taxes and transfer taxes are imposed even on single-home owners simply because they do not live in their property."

He also noted, "If landlords, fearing non-occupancy taxes, evict tenants, those tenants have nowhere to go. And if even a portion of the increased taxes is passed on to rental prices, the burden falls squarely on the tenants. This will certainly make the already dire rental market situation in the Seoul metropolitan area much worse."

He further questioned, "Who exactly are these policies for, when they push enormous numbers of tenant families farther away from their workplaces and schools?"

He also criticized that the intent of the recent National Real Estate Forum held last month has been undermined. Yoo said, "Why have calls to ease restrictions on mortgage loans, Jeonse loans, and relocation loans been ignored? Why have criticisms that regulations such as the land transaction permission system merely create side effects, and voices calling for easing redevelopment and reconstruction regulations, been neglected?"

He called on the People Power Party to come up with alternatives as well. "Before this real estate tax bill is sent to the National Assembly, the opposition should present alternative policies covering overall real estate issues to the public," he said, stressing, "The People Power Party must persuade the people as to why their solution is the best one."

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