(LEAD) Tax revenue up 10.8 tln won in May amid economic recovery

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SEOUL, July 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's tax revenue increased 10.8 trillion won (US$9.5 billion) in May from a year earlier amid an accelerating economic recovery and a boom in property and stock markets, the finance ministry said Thursday.

The country collected 28.4 trillion won in taxes in May, compared with 17.6 trillion won the previous year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The government said capital gains tax income rose amid a boom in asset markets and corporate tax income also extended gains.

In the January-May period, tax revenue rose 43.6 trillion won on-year to 161.8 trillion won.

In the first five months of this year, the government's total revenue, including tax income, amounted to 261.4 trillion won, up 63.2 trillion won from a year earlier.

The country's gross expenditures grew 22.4 trillion won on-year to 281.9 trillion won in the cited period due to increased fiscal spending over the pandemic.

As a result, the country posted a fiscal deficit of 20.5 trillion won in the January-May period, smaller than a shortfall of 61.3 trillion won a year earlier.

The managed fiscal balance -- a key gauge of fiscal soundness calculated after excluding accounts on social security funds -- logged a deficit of 48.5 trillion won in the cited period, compared with a shortfall of 77.9 trillion won the previous year.

The country's central government debt amounted to 899.8 trillion won as of end-May, up from 819.2 trillion won at the end of last year.

A stable rise in tax revenue is raising the possibility that the country could log a larger-than-expected surplus in tax income for this year. The finance ministry earlier forecast this year's excess tax revenue will likely reach 31.5 trillion won.

South Korea recently proposed an extra budget of 33 trillion won to finance another round of COVID-19 relief funds. The supplementary budget will be funded without a debt sale as the government will use excess tax revenue.

The country also plans to spend 2 trillion won to repay part of its national debt with a surplus of tax revenue.

With the debt repayment, the national debt is expected to reach 963.9 trillion won this year, down from the 965.9 trillion-won estimate made in March.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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