The court ruled that the tax imposed on apartments used as residences for Catholic special pastoral priests and retired priests was illegal.
According to legal experts, on the 11th, Judge Seo Ji-won of the 3rd Administrative Division of the Seoul Administrative Court recently ruled in a lawsuit filed by the Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul Maintenance Foundation against the Gangnam District Mayor to cancel the imposition of property tax, etc., stating that the taxation on the apartment in question owned by the foundation was illegal and that the order should be canceled.
In October 2010, the foundation acquired a 19-unit apartment building with two underground floors and 12 floors above ground in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The foundation carried out interior renovations, including changing the public facilities on the first floor of the building into a prayer hall, two rooms on the second floor into a dining room, kitchen, and laundry room, and one room on the third floor into a fitness center and lounge.
Of the 19 rooms located from the 3rd to the 12th floor of the building, 4 rooms were used as residences for special pastoral priests belonging to the foundation. The remaining rooms were used as residences for retired priests belonging to the foundation or special pastoral priests on leave.
Gangnam-gu Office imposed a total of 3 million won in taxes on the property, urban area, and local education taxes for the first and second installments of the foundation in July and September 2022.
The foundation was dissatisfied with this decision and filed an objection to the Tax Tribunal. However, it was dismissed in May 2023, and a lawsuit was filed with the Administrative Court to cancel the decision.
The foundation argued that “it was provided as a residence for special pastoral priests who are essential and in a central position for religious activities,” and that “according to the Local Tax Special Measures Act, it is real estate directly used by religious organizations for their business, so it is exempt from property taxes, etc.”
The court explained, “Article 50, Paragraph 2 of the Local Tax Special Measures Act exempts real estate that religious organizations directly use for their business from property taxes, etc.”
However, he said, “If a religious group provides housing or lodging to its members only for the convenience of its members or if their stay is not significantly related to performing their duties, it cannot be viewed as being directly used for the purpose of the group.”
He added, “Religious organizations function mainly through their human members, such as priests,” and “The only difference between special pastoral priests and parish pastoral priests is that they engage in missionary work within their parishes, targeting specific targets or fields outside the scope of their parishes, but it is difficult to see a difference in that they all engage in activities to spread the teachings or doctrines of Catholicism.”
In addition, the court ruled that “even if the building in question is located in a third-class general residential area and is located away from the places of employment of special pastoral priests, it cannot be determined that the property in question is not directly used for the foundation’s religious activities based on such circumstances alone.”
(Seoul = News 1)