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PPP leader vows to abolish inheritance taxes for surviving spouses

Published: 06 Mar. 2025, 13:00 Updated: 06 Mar. 2025, 16:21

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

Conservative People Power Party (PPP) interim leader Kwon Young-se, center, speaks at the National Assembly in western Seoul on March 6. [YONHAP]

Conservative People Power Party (PPP) interim leader Kwon Young-se said Thursday that his party will “abolish” inheritance tax for the transfer of assets from a deceased individual to their surviving spouse.

During a party meeting at the National Assembly in western Seoul, Kwon said spousal inheritance is “not a generational wealth transfer” as the couple contributed together to their earnings.

Kwon’s remarks came as the PPP and the liberal main opposition Democratic Party (DP) have been tussling over how to reduce the inheritance tax burden ahead of a potential presidential election. It appeared that both parties are in a bid to garner support from swing voters and middle-income families by lowering taxes.

The PPP interim leader said that most advanced nations, such as the United States, Britain and France, do not impose a death duty on a surviving spouse.

He also suggested that his party would introduce a concept of acquisition tax in levying inheritance tax to let heirs pay death duties according to the stake they received.

The current scheme views the entire inheritance wealth from the deceased as a single item subject to a levy. When the progressive taxation scheme is applied at the same time, tax rates are calculated at a relatively high level regardless of the amount of inheritance per heir.

In contrast, the acquisition tax concept — which the PPP is willing to implement — centers on adjusting tax to apply to a portion of each recipient's inheritance. Thus, when subject to progressive taxation, the tax rates and burden per heir are expected to be lower than the current system.

Kwon said his party’s initiative has been “adopted by 20 OECD member states” and will “enable reasonable and fair taxation.”

Kwon also criticized a DP's initiative to reform inheritance tax as “possessed by a patriarchal mindset which maintains punitive characteristic of imposing excessive tax burdens.” Kwon's remarks seemingly targets the DP's approach of maintaining inheritance tax between spouses.

Liberal Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, center, speaks during a supreme council meeting at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Feb. 24. [NEWS1]

The DP’s proposal to reform inheritance tax centers on raising the maximum deductible amount on death duties from 500 million won ($342,000) to 800 million won for a deceased person’s heirs and 500 million won to 1 billion won for surviving spouses.

While the DP is pushing for tax exemptions for estates valued up to 1.8 billion won, the PPP is moving to exclude surviving spouses from death duties altogether.

Kwon said the DP’s interest is driven by an urge to create a campaign slogan for its leader Lee Jae-myung, so that his party can say that he reduced tax instead of devising any genuinely meaningful reform to the inheritance tax reform.

Kwon said his party would institute “authentic” tax reform and block the DP’s reform proposals for death duties, vowing to “protect people’s wealth.”

People Power Party Rep. Song Eon-seog, chairperson of the parliamentary Strategy and Finance Committee speaks at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Nov. 29. [NEWS1]

Later in the day, PPP lawmakers from the parliamentary Strategy and Finance Committee held a press conference and urged the DP to “stop deceiving the public” by bringing up “meaningless fast-track legislation” to pass their inheritance tax amendments.

A fast-track bill should be reviewed by the governing standing committee and the Judiciary and Legislation Committee within 180 days and 90 days, respectively. Then, the bill will be referred to the plenary session and it must be voted on within 60 days. The system is designed to prevent procedural delays in legislation.

On Wednesday, the DP said it will review a legislation of revised scheme for inheritance tax through the fast-track mechanism.

The PPP views fast-track legislation is “unnecessary,” considering two amendments — aligned with DP leader Lee’s suggestion — which have already been referred to the plenary session for voting.

PPP Rep. Song Eon-seog, chairperson of the finance committee, said his amendment has raised deductibles, higher than that of DP leader Lee's suggestion. Song also noted that another revision by DP Rep. Lim Kwang-hyun is also on hold at the plenary session. Lim's proposal outlines the same deductible as that of Lee's proposal.

Song said the DP could pass the amendments at the plenary session if they wish as they hold a parliamentary majority.

Update, March 6: Added press conference by PPP lawmakers from the parliamentary Strategy and Finance Committee.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]