All taxable incomes must be taxed. But there have been unwarranted exceptions ― those accrued to Protestant priests, Buddhist monks and other clergy members. Permitting such an exception goes against the Constitution, which reads in part: “All citizens have the duty to pay taxes under the conditions as prescribed by law.”
Now the government belatedly says it will seriously consider taxing all people holding religious office. Finance Minister Bark Jae-wan says he finds it difficult to continue to permit such privileges any longer. He says the administration is considering establishing rules on income tax for clergy when the revision of the tax code is due later this year.
Here again, no unwarranted privileges must be granted to clergy when it comes to deductions and exemptions. No special treatment is warranted by any constitutional or statutory regulations, though some priests claim, citing theological theory, that their incomes deserve tax exemptions.
It had been a conventional practice not to tax people holding religious office until 2006 when the National Tax Service made an inquiry to the Finance Ministry on the question of whether or not to continue the practice. But the ministry has since been sitting on the question, apparently for fear of resistance it might invite from the religious community when it decided to discontinue the practice.
It is an enigma what has prompted Bark to propose to tax clergy ahead of the upcoming general elections, given that it is a politically risky proposition. However, he has done well to do so, when seen from the perspective of equitable taxation.
Moreover, Catholic priests have been paying income tax since 1994, and a group of Protestant churches are moving to follow suit. The Jogye Order of Buddhism says it is not opposed to taxation. One survey shows 65 percent of the respondents support the taxation proposal.
According to a report, 80 percent of Protestant priests are assumed to have a monthly income below the threshold of taxation ― 1.7 million won for a four-member family. But those who make more cannot be exempted from paying taxes just because they are priests. It is the same with Buddhist monks.
It goes without saying that transparent accounting must precede taxation. According to a report, it will be difficult for tax collectors to assess incomes accrued to people holding religious office because religious groups use different accounting rules for bookkeeping.
