National tax revenue increased by more than 5 trillion won last month compared to the same period last year, driven by factors such as capital gains from overseas stocks, housing transactions, and an increase in stock trading.
According to the "Status of National Tax Revenue for May 2026" released by the Ministry of Finance and Economy today (June 30), 35.8 trillion won in national taxes was collected last month, an increase of 5.6 trillion won (18.7%) from the same month last year.
The growth was primarily driven by increases in income tax, securities transaction tax, and corporate tax.
Income tax revenue reached 22 trillion won, an increase of 3.1 trillion won (16.5%) from last year.
This was influenced by higher capital gains tax due to increased profits from overseas stock investments and higher housing transaction volumes, as well as an increase in earned income tax resulting from a rise in the number of employed individuals and total salary payments. Comprehensive income tax from final filings for the 2025 tax year also saw an increase.
Securities transaction tax revenue rose by 1 trillion won to 1.3 trillion won, attributed to an increase in stock trading volume and the restoration of tax rates.
The growth rate compared to the same month last year reached 403.3%.
The trading value of listed stocks recorded 1,492.1 trillion won in April, a 275.7% increase from the previous year.
Corporate tax revenue increased by 700 billion won (9.6%) due to factors such as an increase in installment payments from December-closing corporations following improved business performance, and higher dividend withholding taxes.
As the strong tax revenue trend continues, the cumulative national tax revenue from January to May of this year reached 199.9 trillion won.
This is an increase of 27.5 trillion won (16.0%) compared to the same period last year.
The government explained that it has currently achieved 66.3% of the target to increase national tax revenue by 41.5 trillion won compared to last year, based on this year's supplementary budget (415.4 trillion won).
Income tax revenue was recorded at 66.7 trillion won, an increase of 9 trillion won (15.7%) from last year.
Corporate tax collection reached 46.6 trillion won, up 3.9 trillion won (9.0%).
The government expects the growth of corporate tax to accelerate further during the interim tax payments in August, driven by the strong performance of major semiconductor companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix in the first half of this year.
Since last year, business groups subject to public disclosure have been required to perform interim tax settlements.
A government official explained that the government has estimated that interim payments (40.4 trillion won) will be larger than self-paid corporate taxes (33.1 trillion won) in this year's supplementary budget.
Value-added tax also increased by 4.5 trillion won (11.6%) due to factors such as a decrease in refunds and an increase in import values.
Cumulative securities transaction tax revenue reached 5.4 trillion won through May of this year, an increase of 4.1 trillion won (312.5%) from last year.
An official from the Ministry of Finance and Economy stated, "Leveraged ETFs have been launched, and market volatility has increased. Increased volatility acts as a positive factor in terms of transaction tax."
Regarding the possibility of drafting a second supplementary budget due to excess tax revenue, the official said, "We are not considering it," and explained that the decision to draft a supplementary budget falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Planning and Budget.
(Photo: Yonhap News)