Korea's national tax revenue in January rose by 6.2 trillion won compared to the previous year, driven primarily by a booming stock market and increased VAT collection.
In January, South Korea's national tax revenue reached 52.9 trillion won, marking an increase of 6.2 trillion won from the same month last year. The surge in tax income was largely attributed to the active performance of the stock market and a significant rise in value-added tax (VAT) revenue, which alone saw a boost of 3.8 trillion won. This increase followed an 11.7% year-on-year growth in import revenue and reduced tax refunds, contributing to the uptick in VAT revenue.
Additionally, the rise in income and transfers due to an increase in employment led to an additional 9 trillion won in labor income tax collections, while gains from real estate transactions added 3 trillion won to capital gains tax revenue, totaling a 15 trillion won increase from income taxes overall. The securities transaction tax also rose by 2 trillion won, reflecting increased trading volume in the Kosdaq market, and the special tax on agricultural and fishery transactions increased by 3 trillion won, showing that the stock market's positive trends are affecting various tax streams.
The January figures reflect transactions from December, which means the new securities transaction tax rates, implemented this year, have not yet impacted these numbers. As such, the national tax revenue for February, which will include January's trading results, is expected to be even higher. The government projected tax income from securities transaction taxes to reach 5.4 trillion won this year, but given the current stock market performance, this estimate may need upward revision.
