In the 21st century, problems associated with aging populations are becoming more severe. The United Nations (U.N.) said China’s working-age population is decreasing by about 40 million between 2010 and 2021. Also, Italy has the world’s second-highest aging rate after Japan. And in Korea, the number of elderly people aged 65 or older has increased by 4.4% over the past 10 years, according to Korea Economic Research Institute. While each country is working to solve the problem, Japan has devised a system for vacant houses, which has increased due to aging.
In Japan, the number of abandoned houses is increasing due to the low birth rate and aging population. As the number of vacant houses increases and the frequency of patrol decreases, the number of surrounding crime areas may gradually increase. In addition, there is a possibility that slums will gradually increase. Therefore, Kyoto City submitted an ordinance to the parliament. Local governments are introducing a temporary residence tax called the Speculation and Vacancy Tax to address this growing problem.
The introduction of this Speculation and Vacancy Tax was not only attempted in Japan. The UK, which had a more serious problem with vacant houses than Japan, implemented this before Japan. The UK recorded statistics on vacant houses that had been vacant for more than six months since 2004. The UK handled 318,642 vacant houses left alone for more than six months with this policy.
There is also another country that has implemented this policy. Vancouver has the lowest rental vacancy rate in Canada with the highest rental costs. According to a 2016 survey, 53% of Vancouver residents own real estate but do not actually live there. To solve this problem, the city council decided on speculative and vacant taxes submitted by the city of Vancouver in 2016.
As we saw in the above article it can be seen that various countries around the world are striving in terms of institutions to overcome the aging problem. Likewise, in Korea, aging problems are beginning to emerge. Therefore, it is necessary to face an important turning point by establishing the above system appropriately for the economic situation.
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