National budget deficit at 36.6 trillion won in January-April; deficit narrows as tax revenue rises

[Financial News] As tax revenue continued to rise, the national budget deficit narrowed in the first four months of this year. Supported by higher national tax revenue, the managed fiscal balance posted a deficit of 36.6 trillion won, down 9.5 trillion won from a year earlier.
As of the end of April, cumulative revenue reached 272.3 trillion won, up 41.3 trillion won from the same period last year, according to the monthly fiscal trends report for June released by the Ministry of Planning and Budget on the 11th.
By category, national tax revenue came to 164.1 trillion won, up 21.9 trillion won from a year earlier. Non-tax revenue rose 7.9 trillion won to 23.1 trillion won, while fund revenue increased 11.5 trillion won to 85.2 trillion won.
The increase in national tax revenue was driven by broad-based gains in income tax, corporate tax, value-added tax and securities transaction tax. Income tax rose 5.9 trillion won from a year earlier, helped by higher performance bonuses and increases in earned income tax and capital gains tax due to more real estate transactions.
Corporate tax increased 3.2 trillion won as business results improved. Value-added tax rose 4.7 trillion won on lower refunds and higher imports. Securities transaction tax climbed 3.1 trillion won, reflecting higher trading volume and the restoration of the tax rate. Transportation tax also increased 600 billion won, partly due to the restoration of the flexible fuel tax rate.
Cumulative expenditure as of the end of April stood at 285.6 trillion won, up 23.3 trillion won from a year earlier. As a result, the consolidated fiscal balance recorded a deficit of 13.2 trillion won, narrowing by 18 trillion won from the same period last year.
The managed fiscal balance, which excludes the balance of social security funds such as the National Pension Service (NPS) from the consolidated fiscal balance, showed a deficit of 36.6 trillion won. That was an improvement of 9.5 trillion won from a year earlier. The managed fiscal deficit was the lowest for the end of April since 2019, before the COVID-19 expansionary fiscal policy began in earnest.

syj@fnnews.com Seo Young-joon Reporter