SEOUL, May 29 (AJP) - South Korea’s national tax revenue expanded sharply during the first four months of this year on track for excess revenue of 25.2 trillion won ($17 billion) this year on blistering stock market rally and corporate earnings, the government said Friday.
According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Friday, cumulative national tax revenue from January to April reached 164.1 trillion won ($109.7 billion), adding 21.9 trillion won from the same period last year.
The tax collection progress rate came to 39.5 percent against budgeting, faster than 38.0 percent a year earlier.
For the single month of April, national tax revenue stood at 55.2 trillion won, climbing 6.3 trillion won on year. The finance ministry cited expansions in securities transaction taxes, corporate income taxes, and personal income taxes as the primary catalysts for the monthly gain.
Securities transaction tax collections jumped by 1.1 trillion won, fueled by expanding transaction turnover and higher tax rates. According to the finance ministry, the trading volume of listed shares in March soared to 1,449.4 trillion won, nearly quadrupling from the 357.1 trillion won recorded in the same month last year.
Since the beginning of the year, the domestic equity market has experienced a massive influx of retail capital, with trading activity concentrating heavily around semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors.
Market observers noted that the relentless upward momentum of mega-cap tech stocks, such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, combined with an investment frenzy into single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded notes (ETNs), further amplified the trading surge.
Corporate tax collections also advanced by 2.2 trillion won, reflecting a sharp turnaround in corporate profitability. The finance ministry explained that the annual operating profits of companies listed on the benchmark KOSPI rose 29.5 percent on an individual basis and 25.4 percent on a consolidated basis last year.
Personal income taxes rose by 1.3 trillion won, driven by expanded corporate bonus payouts and a rise in capital gains from stock liquidations. Value-added tax (VAT) collections also ticked up by 300 billion won, supported by an expansion in import values.
By item, cumulative figures for the January-April period showed that personal income taxes expanded by 5.9 trillion won year-on-year. Over the same four-month span, securities transaction taxes and corporate taxes increased by 3.1 trillion won and 3.2 trillion won each.
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