S. Korea’s tax revenue falls in Jan.-June

SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) — South Korea’s tax revenue fell for the first six months of this year due to higher corporate tax benefits, government data showed Wednesday.
Tax revenue stood at 168.6 trillion won (123.9 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-June period, down 10.0 trillion won (7.4 billion dollars) compared to the same period of last year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Corporate tax collection tumbled 16.1 trillion won (11.8 billion dollars) in the six-month period on increased tax benefits for companies.
Income tax revenue grew 200 billion won (147.1 million dollars), while revenue from value-added tax expanded 5.6 trillion won (4.1 billion dollars).
Total revenue, including tax and non-tax revenues, diminished 300 billion won (220.6 million dollars) to 296.0 trillion won (217.6 billion dollars) in the six-month period.
Total expenditure increased 20.3 trillion won (14.9 billion dollars) to 371.9 trillion won (273.4 billion dollars).
The managed fiscal balance, excluding social security fund, posted a deficit of 103.4 trillion won (76.0 billion dollars) in the first six months of 2024.
The central government’s debt amounted to 1,145.9 trillion won (842.5 billion dollars) at the end of June, down 900 billion won (661.7 million dollars) from a month earlier. ■