▲ Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho holds a press briefing on South Korea's tax code revision in the central city of Sejong on July 24, 2023. (Yonhap)

tax revenue-tally

Tax revenue down 39.7 tln won through June

By Kang Yoon-seung

SEJONG, July 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's tax revenue decreased 39.7 trillion won (US$31.1 billion) on-year in the first half of 2023, data showed Monday, amid the slump in the property market.

Tax revenue reached 178.5 trillion won during the January-June period, down from 218.3 trillion won tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

In June alone, the government collected 18.4 trillion won in taxes, down 3.3 trillion won from the previous year.

The ministry attributed the decrease to the lower amount of capital gain tax collected amid the falling number of traded homes. The number of homes traded reached 47,000 in April, dropping 18.6 percent on-year.

Over the first half, the amount of income tax collected fell 11.6 trillion won to 57.9 trillion won, and that of the corporate tax plunged 16.8 trillion won to 46.7 trillion won on weak earnings.

In June alone, the collected income tax came to 6.8 trillion won, down 2.1 trillion won on-year, the data showed.

The amount of corporate tax collected edged up 500 billion won to 3.1 trillion won, while the inheritance and gift tax revenue remained unchanged at 1.1 trillion won.

The securities transaction tax, which has been losing ground amid economic uncertainties, edged down 100 billion won on-month to 400 billion won.

Last week, South Korea unveiled its tax code revision bill, focusing on providing tax cuts for businesses and reducing financial burdens for the people to counter a prolonged slowdown and revive economic vitality.

The revision includes measures to offer more tax cuts for entertainment content producers and biopharmaceutical firms, as well as business successions at small and medium-sized firms.

The finance ministry explained that the new policy was designed with the goal of providing businesses and individuals with greater room to expand their spending and ultimately enhance their tax revenue.

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