Tax Revenues Plummet in Sluggish Economy

Korea's tax revenues dropped about W43 trillion on-year in the first seven months of this year (US$1=W1,322).

The Ministry of Economy and Finance on Thursday said tax revenues amounted to W217.6 trillion from January through July, down W43.4 trillion from a year ago.

That was just 54.3 percent of the revenue budget, 11.6 percentage points lower than last year.

Revenues from all three major sources fell -- corporate tax by W17.1 trillion, income tax by W12.7 trillion and VAT by W6.1 trillion -- due to declining real estate transactions and operating profits amid the sluggish economy.