South Korea to Begin Taxing Income from Church Leaders

This is something that I wish that we would do in the US because these megachurch leaders living opulent lifestyles should be taxed:

Picture of South Korean church steeple from Flickr user Knigel. 

In a sweeping revision of Korea’s tax system, the government plans to tax religious leaders for the first time and change regulations governing “corporate cars.”

The revisions were proposed at the taxation subcommittee of the Strategy and Finance Committee of the National Assembly on Monday.

In a move to be approved by the National Assembly on Wednesday, the government said it will begin collecting income tax from pastors, clergy and monks starting in 2018. The decision comes after long-standing discussions on the sensitive issue over the past 50 years.

“We decided to take the next two years as a time to prepare for the new rule, since it is the first time that Korea has implemented such a law,” Rep. Kang Seog-hoon of the ruling Saenuri Party said. “During the two years, we will keep communicating with religious groups so that the policy can settle down without turbulence.”

The revision categorizes income of religious leaders as “religious income,” instead of what is currently classified as an “honorarium,” and it will be collected under the same conditions as regular workers’ income.   [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link.