The Economic Effects of Tax Incentives for Housing Owners: An Overview and Policy Implications

주택소유자(住宅所有者)에 대한 조세감면(租稅減免)의 경제적(經濟的) 효과(效果) : 기존연구(旣存硏究)의 개관(槪觀) 및 정책시사점(政策示唆點)

Housing owners in Korea have a variety of tax advantages such as income tax exemption for the imputed rent of owner-occupied housing, exemption from the capital gains tax and deduction of the estate tax for one-house households. These tax reliefs for housing owners not only conflict with the principle of horizontal and vertical equity, but also lead to resource misallocation by distorting the housing market, and thus bring about regressive distribution effects. Particularly in the case of Korea with its imperfect capital market, these measures exacerbate the inter-class inequality of housing ownership as well as inequalities in wealth, by causing the affluent to demand needlessly large housing, while the poor and young experience difficulties in purchasing residential properties. Therefore, the Korean tax system must be altered as follows in order to disadvantage owner-occupiers, especially those owners of luxury housing. These alterations will promote housing-ownership, tax burden equity, efficiency of resource allocation, as well as the desirable distribution of income. First, income tax deductions for the rent payments of tenants are recommended. Ideally, the way of recovering the fiscal equivalence between the owner-occupiers and tenants is to levy an income tax on the former's imputed rents, and if necessary to give them tax credits. This, however, would be very difficult from a practical viewpoint, because the general public may perceive the concept of "imputed rent" as cumbersome. Computing the imputed rent also entails administrative costs, rendering quite reasonable, the continued exemption of imputed rent from taxation with the simultaneous deduction in the income tax for tenants. This would further enhance the administrative efficiency of income tax collection by easing assessment of the landlord's income. Second, a capital gains tax should be levied on the one-house household, except with the postponement of payments in the case that the seller purchases higher priced property. Exemption of the capital gains tax for the one-house household favors those who have more expensive housing, providing an incentive to the rich to hold even larger residences, and to the constructors to build more luxurious housing to meet the demand. So it is not desirable to sustain the current one-house household exemption while merely supplementing it with fastidious measures. Rather, the rule must be abolished completely with the concurrent reform of the deduction system and lowering of the tax rate, measures which the author believes will help optimize the capital gains tax incidence. Finally, discontinuation of the housing exemption for the heir is suggested. Consequent increases in the tax burden of the middle class could be mitigated by a reduction in the rate. This applies to the following specific exemptions as well, namely, for farm lands, meadows, woods, business fields-to foster horizontal equity, while denying speculation on land that leads to a loss in allocative efficiency. Moreover, imperfections in the Korean capital market have disallowed the provision of long term credit for housing seekers. Remedying these problems is essential to the promotion of greater housing ownership by the low and middle income classes. It is also certain that a government subsidy be focused on the poorest of the poor who cannot afford even to think of owning a housing.

주택소유자(住宅所有者)는 자가주택(自家住宅) 귀속임료(歸屬賃料)에 대한 소득세비과세(所得稅非課稅), 1세대(世帶) 1주택(住宅)에 대한 양도소득세비과세(讓渡所得稅非課稅) 및 주택상속(住宅相續)에 대한 상속세공제(相續稅控除) 등 여러가지 조세감면혜택(租稅減免惠澤)을 누리고 있다. 본고(本稿)에서는 기존의 연구결과를 중심으로 이러한 조세감면혜택의 경제적(經濟的) 효과(效果)를 살펴보았다. 이에 의하면 주택소유자(住宅所有者)에 대한 조세감면(租稅減免)은 조세부담(租稅負擔)의 수평적(水平的) 수직적(垂直的) 형평(衡平)에 어긋날 뿐 아니라 주택시장(住宅市場) 및 국민경제(國民經濟)에 미치는 여러가지 왜곡효과(歪曲效果)를 통해 자원배분(資源配分)의 효율성(效率性)을 저해하고 역진적인 소득재분배(所得再分配)를 유발한다고 할 수 있다. 특히 자본시장(資本市場)이 불완전(不完全)한 경우 주택조세감면(住宅租稅減免)은 부유층에 대해 필요 이상의 주택(住宅)을 소유토록하는 한편 유동성이 부족한 저소득층(低所得層) 및 젊은층의 주택구입(住宅購入)을 더욱 어렵게 함으로써 주택소유(住宅所有)의 계층간 불균형을 심화시키고 소득분배(所得分配)를 더욱 악화시키는 결과를 초래한다고 할 수 있다. 따라서 주택소유자(住宅所有者)와 무주택자간(無住宅者間) 조세(租稅)의 중립성을 회복하는 것이 중요하며 이를 위해서는 첫째로 무주택자(無住宅者)의 임대료지출(賃貸料支出)에 대해 소득공제(所得控除)를 실시하며, 둘째로 1세대(世帶) 1가구(家口)에 대해서도 양도소득세(讓渡所得稅)를 과세하며, 셋째로 상속과세(相續課稅)에 있어 주택공제(住宅控除)를 폐지하는 것이 바람직하다고 생각된다. 우리나라와 같이 자본시장(資本市場)이 불완전한 경우 주택소유촉진정책(住宅所有促進政策)은 효율적(效率的)인 장기주택금융제도(長期住宅金融制度)의 확립을 통해 실시되어야 하며 정부(政府)의 재정지원(財政支援)은 주거비부담능력(住居費負擔能力)이 최소한의 수준에 미달하는 영세민계층(零細民階層)에 집중(集中)되어야 할 것이다.