This study develops an "evaluation & analysis model of personal tax burden" using the Korean tax system and survey data and also presents the personal tax burden from various taxes that Koreans would face in conjunction with various economic activities during their lifetime. To put it more concretely, this study first investigates the "personal taxes", with which individuals would be eventually burdened, in the Korean tax structure for the year 2010 as the benchmark year. Then, this study combines the personal taxes with the National Survey of Taxes and Benefits, which includes the information about the individual economic activities such as earnings, purchase of houses, cars and other durable goods, usual consumption activities, gift and inheritance, in order to construct the model and calculate the personal tax burden.

The results from the model constructed in this study are as follows. Global income tax turns out to be progressive showing that the percentage of global income tax amount to gross household income on the first decile is 0.95 percent while the percentage on the tenth decile is 8.4 percent. However, value added tax, which is one of the typical indirect taxes, seems to be regressive since the percentage of value added tax amount to gross household income on the first decile is 6.4 percent while the percentage on the tenth decile is just 2.9 percent. The results show that acquisition tax, registration tax and local income tax, all of which include global income tax, are relatively progressive. On the other hand, liquor tax, education tax, local consumption tax, tobacco consumption tax, city-planning tax and common facilities tax, all of which include value added tax, are relatively regressive. In addition, selective excise tax, transportation, energy and environment related taxes, residence tax, automobile tax, motor fuel tax and local education tax are found to have the inverse U shape. This finding indicates that the tax amount / household income ratio would increase up to a certain quantile only to decrease subsequently.

In this study, the evaluation & analysis model of personal tax burden has a feature that could broaden the public perception and the understanding of tax burden because it is based on the concrete contents of various taxes that individuals could face and also it directly calculates the tax burden at individual level by using micro data. In addition, the model covers almost all the taxes levied on individuals and generates the personal tax burden; thus, it can do a comprehensive evaluation on the tax system.

Furthermore, the model is very useful in evaluating and analyzing a change in tax burden that brings a corresponding change in the tax system. Ranging from the tax revision bill announced by the government every year to the plans for financing welfare programs issued by politicians, the model can evaluate and analyze the effects of various tax policies on personal tax burden. Thus, the model constructed in this study is expected to make many applications going forward.