Cumulative National Tax Revenue Reaches 232.6 Trillion Won as of July
Corporate Tax Up 44%, Income Tax Up 13%
Value-Added Tax and Securities Transaction Tax on the Decline
From January to July, national tax revenue increased by 2.38 trillion won, driven by higher corporate and income tax collections. The progress rate compared to the second supplementary budget stood at 62.5%, which is 0.9 percentage points lower than the average progress rate over the past five years.
According to the “July National Tax Revenue Status” released by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on August 29, national tax revenue for January to July reached 232.6 trillion won, up 23.8 trillion won (11.4%) from the same period last year. This was due to a sharp increase in corporate tax and a rise in income tax, leading to higher revenue in major tax categories. The cumulative progress rate up to July was 62.5% based on the supplementary budget, which is lower than last year’s settlement-based figure (62.0%) and the average for the past five years (63.4%).
An official from the Ministry of Economy and Finance explained, “The recovery in private consumption has been slower than expected at the time of the supplementary budget, and the won-denominated import value has decreased due to a lower exchange rate compared to the beginning of the year. In addition, the extension of the flexible fuel tax rate cut has also exerted some downward pressure on tax revenue, so the national tax revenue outlook may decline slightly going forward.”
Looking at the three major tax categories, corporate tax surged by 14.5 trillion won (43.8%) to 47.4 trillion won, due to improved corporate performance last year and increases in corporate interest and dividend income. Income tax rose by 9 trillion won (13.3%) to 77.1 trillion won, as a result of expanded bonus payments and an increase in the number of employees, which boosted earned income tax, as well as higher capital gains tax due to strong overseas stock performance. In contrast, value-added tax fell by 1.5 trillion won (2.4%) to 61.4 trillion won.
Securities transaction tax plunged by 1.3 trillion won (40.8%) to 1.8 trillion won, mainly due to decreased trading volume on the KOSDAQ. The transportation, energy, and environment tax increased by 1 trillion won (15.8%) to 7.4 trillion won.
Last month, national tax revenue rose by 2.4 trillion won (5.9%) to 42.6 trillion won, mainly due to increases in capital gains and earned income tax. In fact, income tax reached 11.9 trillion won, up 1.9 trillion won (18.9%). Corporate tax increased by 100 billion won (4.0%) to 2.4 trillion won, while value-added tax decreased by 200 billion won (0.8%) to 21.5 trillion won.
The special rural tax increased by 300 billion won, influenced by a rise in KOSPI trading volume. Individual consumption tax and securities transaction tax each decreased by 100 billion won.
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