A Study on Equity of Land Tax in Chosun Dynasty
Oh, kisoo
korean journal of taxation research 27(1): 135-166
2010
Accession: 066143109
In Chosun society based on agriculture, the biggest taxation in the national finance was the land－related land－tax. The imposition method of land tax was revised with the times, but it was the main tax revenue of the national fiscal revenue for Chosun dynasty of 500 years. In the land tax system, Chosun Dynasty's taxation thought and taxation equity can be analyzed.This study is intended to research how much the equity of land tax, the main tax of Chosun Dynasty was realized according to the laws and the land tax system such as the Code of Kyeng Kuk Tae Jen. When Chosun Dynasty's land tax equity is discussed, the important problem is the land tax reduction. In particular, the land tax reduction for the privileged classes of Chosun Dynasty not only caused the reduction of national fiscal revenue, but also spoiled the tax equity by giving a heavy burden of taxation to taxpayer farmers.Most researches on Chosun Dynasty's taxation system were done from a historical aspect, but there was an insufficient research on the tax equity from the taxable aspect. Accordingly, whether the tax equity existed in Chosun Dynasty's tax law, whether the taxation was fairly executed, and how the tax equity was given, were examined through the land tax system. It seems necessary to research the basic tax thought by tax equity in terms of tax affairs.In conclusion, Chosun Dynasty's land tax law was formulated based on a basic principle of tax equity, and the government seemed to equally enforce the land tax system according to the law. There was a difference in the tax equity by the land tax system, and the fair tax administration deemed to be more infringed by a lack of management's professionalism, absurdity and corruption.