South Korea Defies Fiscal Deficit with Tax Revenue Increase

(MENAFN) South Korea's tax income increased in the first quarter of the year, driven by gains in corporate and income taxes, according to government figures released on Thursday.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance reported that tax collections reached 93.3 trillion won (66.9 billion U.S. dollars) between January and March, marking an increase of 8.4 trillion won (6.0 billion dollars) compared to the same timeframe in 2024.

Corporate and income tax revenues rose by 6.5 trillion won (4.7 billion dollars) and 2.8 trillion won (2.0 billion dollars), respectively. However, value-added tax collections fell by 1.5 trillion won (1.1 billion dollars) during the same period.

Combined revenue from both tax and non-tax sources came to 159.9 trillion won (114.6 billion dollars) in the first quarter, up 12.5 trillion won (8.9 billion dollars) year-on-year.

Government spending decreased by 2.2 trillion won (1.6 billion dollars) to 210.0 trillion won (150.5 billion dollars) over the same period.

The managed fiscal balance, which excludes the social security fund, showed a deficit of 61.3 trillion won (43.9 billion dollars) for the January-March stretch.

As of the end of March, the central government’s debt stood at 1,175.9 trillion won (842.8 billion dollars), a reduction of 4.6 trillion won (3.3 billion dollars) from the previous month.

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