Higher incomes, rising housing prices drive tax revenue up by 5.5 trillion won in June

Wage hikes and home sales created a marked increase over last year's numbers, with a major jump in the securities transaction tax also playing a key role.

An apartment complex under construction in Seocho District, southern Seoul, as seen on July 23

Korea's tax revenue rose by 5.5 trillion won ($3.83 billion) in June from a year earlier on higher incomes and an increase in the number of homes traded, data showed Friday.

The government collected 23.1 trillion won in taxes last month, up 31.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Finance and Economy.

The Finance Ministry attributed the increase to higher income tax collections, which totaled 8.9 trillion won in June, up 1.4 trillion won from the year prior, reflecting wage hikes and an increase in the number of homes traded.

The total number of homes traded in the country came to 69,800 in April, up 6.6 percent from last year's total of 65,400.

Korea also collected 2.7 trillion won in corporate taxes, up 400 billion won from a year earlier.

Revenue from the securities transaction tax rose 1.2 trillion won on year to 1.4 trillion won.

For the January-June period, tax revenue came to 223 trillion won, up 17.4 percent, or 33 trillion won, from a year earlier.


Yonhap