SEOUL, South Korea’s tax revenue fell 50.9 trillion won (US$37.73 billion) during the first nine months of 2023 from a year earlier due mainly to weak corporate activities and the prolonged slump in the property market, the finance ministry said Tuesday.

Tax revenue came to 266.6 trillion won during the January-September period, down 16 percent from the previous year’s 317.6 trillion won, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

In September alone, the government collected 25 trillion won in taxes, down 11.7 percent from a year earlier.

This year’s decline was led by the fall in corporate taxes collected, caused by companies’ dwindling earnings.

The collection of corporate taxes fell 23.8 trillion won, or 24.9 percent, to 71.9 trillion won during the nine-month period.

Listed companies in South Korea reported 14.6 trillion won of operating profits combined in the first half of this year, sharply down from 56.4 trillion won from the previous year, according to government data.

The amount of income tax collected fell 14.4 percent on-year to 84.6 trillion won during the January-September period due to the falling number of home transactions.

The value-added tax collected also went down 10.2 percent on-year to 54.9 trillion won on sluggish private consumption and the decline in imports.

Last month, the ministry revised its annual tax revenue estimate to 341.4 trillion won, down 59.1 trillion won from the previous outlook.

Source: Yonhap News Agency