South Korea Posts Sharp Rise in Tax Revenue

(MENAFN) South Korea’s tax collections rose sharply in the first four months of 2025, driven by stronger corporate and income tax receipts, according to government figures released Thursday.

From January through April, tax revenue reached 142.2 trillion won ($104.7 billion), marking an increase of 16.6 trillion won ($12.2 billion) compared to the same timeframe last year, the Ministry of Economy and Finance reported.

Corporate tax intake surged by 13.0 trillion won ($9.6 billion), while income tax revenue rose by 3.5 trillion won ($2.6 billion). However, value-added tax (VAT) collections dipped by 600 billion won ($441.9 million) during the same period.

When including both tax and non-tax income, total government revenue hit 231.1 trillion won ($170.2 billion) from January to April—an annual rise of 17.7 trillion won ($13.0 billion).

Government spending also climbed, reaching 262.3 trillion won ($193.2 billion), up 1.9 trillion won ($1.4 billion) year-on-year.

The managed fiscal balance, which excludes the social security fund, registered a deficit of 46.1 trillion won ($33.9 billion) over the four-month span.

As of the end of April, the central government's outstanding debt stood at 1,197.8 trillion won ($882.1 billion), an increase of 22.0 trillion won ($16.2 billion) from the previous month.

MENAFN12062025000045017169ID1109665023