S. Korea to post more excess tax revenue this year: finance minister

SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Wednesday the government is expected to log a larger-than-expected surplus in tax revenue this year as the economic recovery gathers pace.

In July, the government forecast the country is expected to collect 314.3 trillion won (US$264 billion) in tax revenue for this year, up 31.5 trillion won from its earlier forecast of 282.7 trillion won.

But the National Assembly Budget Office forecast a larger surplus, saying that the country may record excess tax revenue of 35.4 trillion won due to solid corporate earnings and an increase in income from property taxes.

"The gap occurred as the Korean economy is recovering at a faster-than-expected pace ... and tax revenue related to the asset markets was solid," the minister told a parliamentary audit session.

In the first seven months of the year, the country collected 223.7 trillion won in tax revenue, up 55.1 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the finance ministry.

Tax revenue has been on the rise this year as corporate tax income rose amid the economic recovery, while a boom in the stock and property markets raised capital gains tax income.

The Bank of Korea expected Asia's fourth-largest economy to grow 4 percent in 2021 on the back of robust exports. The ministry forecast economic growth of 4.2 percent for this year.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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