SEJONG– South Korea has collected some 35 trillion won (US$28.2 billion) more in taxes in the first four months of the year compared to last year amid the economic recovery, the finance ministry said Monday.
In the January-April period, the tax revenue amounted to 167.9 trillion won, up 34.5 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the ministry.
In April alone, the government’s tax revenue rose 11.9 trillion won from a year earlier as the collection of corporate and value-added taxes increased amid the economic recovery.
The government collected 56.8 trillion won in taxes in April, compared with 44.9 trillion won the previous year.
South Korea has continued to post a surplus of tax revenue as Asia’s fourth-largest economy has been on a recovery track.
The government collected corporate taxes of 20.3 trillion won in April, up 10.5 trillion won from a year earlier. The collection of income taxes rose 1.3 trillion won on-year to 9.3 trillion won as the job market improved.
The collection of value-added taxes gained 800 billion won on-year to 17.6 trillion won due to increased consumption and imports.
A day earlier, the National Assembly approved a record 62 trillion-won extra budget, as the government seeks to compensate small merchants for their losses caused by tough COVID-19 restrictions.
The extra budget, the first under the government of President Yoon Suk-yeol, will be mainly financed with the bulk of the estimated 53.3 trillion-won excess tax revenue for this year.
Source: Yonhap News Agency