Tax revenue falls W50 tril. through Oct.

South Korea’s tax revenue fell 50.4 trillion won ($39.07 billion) during the first 10 months of 2023 from a year earlier due mainly to weak corporate activities and the prolonged slump in the property market, the finance ministry said Thursday.

Tax revenue came to 305.2 trillion won during the January-October period, down 14.17 percent from the previous year’s 355.6 trillion won, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

In October alone, the government collected 38.6 trillion won in taxes, up 1.4 percent from a year earlier.

It was the first time so far this year that the monthly tax collection logged year-on-year growth.

This year’s decline was attributable to the fall in corporate taxes collected amid companies’ dwindling earnings.