South Korea Plans To Lower Inheritance Taxes

• On 25 July, the South Korean government announced that it plans to lower highest bracket inheritance taxes from 50% to 40%.

• This is a significant move since excessively high inheritance taxes has been one of the key reasons for poor corporate governance in Korea.

• A reduction in the highest bracket inheritance taxes from 50% to 40-45% is likely sometime in 4Q24 to 2025 which should help to improve corporate governance in Korea.

Photo by Ann Danilina on Unsplash

On 25 July, the South Korean government announced that it plans to lower highest bracket inheritance taxes from 50% to 40%. This is a significant move since excessively high inheritance taxes has been one of the key reasons for poor corporate governance in Korea. In the past, there have been many cases where family run listed companies would often try to "keep share prices intentionally low" prior to the Chairman/Chairwoman handing over their ownership in these companies to their family members.