South Korea's PBR 0.8 Inheritance Tax Bill Gains Momentum in Parliament on July 9

According to ruling party lawmaker Lee So-young, on July 9, the PBR 0.8 times inheritance tax reform bill accelerated its path through South Korea's parliament. The bill, first proposed in May 2025, aims to prevent large shareholders from deliberately suppressing stock prices to reduce inheritance tax burdens.

Under the current system, inheritance taxes are assessed based on the average stock price around the inheritance date, creating an incentive for major shareholders to keep prices low. The proposed law would set a floor at 80% of book value (PBR 0.8), meaning below that threshold, taxes would be calculated on asset value rather than stock price. Lee plans to include the bill in the government's tax reform package due by month-end and push for parallel review by parliament's Finance Committee.