National Tax Revenue Up 41.4 Trillion Won by July... Securities Transaction Tax Surges 350%

As of July this year, national tax revenue has increased by 41 trillion won compared to last year. Thanks to a robust stock market, securities transaction volumes have surged, leading to sharp rises in both securities transaction tax and special rural taxes. The surge in performance bonuses and a recovery in real estate transactions have also driven growth in income tax revenue.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s announcement on the “Status of National Tax Revenue as of July 2026” on the 31st, national tax collections from January to July reached 274 trillion won, an increase of 41.4 trillion won (17.8%) compared to the same period last year.

Following President Donald Trump's signing of a proclamation imposing an unconditional 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum products into the United States, and his announcement that tariffs on automobiles and semiconductors are also under consideration, export vehicles and containers are waiting to be loaded at Pyeongtaek Port, Gyeonggi Province on February 13, 2025. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

The execution rate against this year's revised national tax revenue budget (415.4 trillion won, reflecting the supplementary budget) stood at 66.0%, which is 3.8 percentage points higher than the same period last year (62.2%). Compared to the five-year average execution rate of 63.5%, this is also 2.5 percentage points higher.

By individual tax category, securities transaction tax and special rural tax recorded significant increases. By July, cumulative securities transaction tax revenues stood at 8.2 trillion won, a rise of 6.4 trillion won (348.5%) compared to the same period last year. This was attributed to an increase in securities transaction volumes and the restoration of the securities transaction tax rate from this year. In fact, the total value of listed shares traded in June reached 2,087.2 trillion won, soaring 232.4% compared to the previous year (627.9 trillion won). Special rural tax revenue also surged due to increased trading on the KOSPI, reaching 13.1 trillion won, up 8.5 trillion won (182.5%) from last year’s 4.6 trillion won.

Income tax, which makes up the largest portion of national tax, totaled 89.3 trillion won, a 12.2 trillion won (15.8%) increase from last year. Growth in earned income tax, due to higher performance bonuses, along with a recovery in real estate transactions and a resulting increase in capital gains tax, contributed to this rise.

Corporate tax revenue rose to 51.8 trillion won, up by 4.4 trillion won (9.3%) from last year, owing to improved corporate performance. Value-added tax revenue also increased, recording 69.4 trillion won after growing by 8.1 trillion won (13.1%) thanks to greater private consumption and imports.

National Taxes Collected in July Reach 51 Trillion Won, Up 8.4 Trillion Won Year-on-Year

National tax collections for the single month of July totaled 51 trillion won, an increase of 8.4 trillion won (19.7%) over the same month last year. Value-added tax rose by 3.2 trillion won (14.8%) to 24.6 trillion won, securities transaction tax increased by 1.1 trillion won (401.0%) to 1.4 trillion won, and income tax grew by 1.8 trillion won (14.9%) to 13.6 trillion won. In contrast, the traffic, energy, and environment tax fell by 0.3 trillion won (22.0%) to 0.9 trillion won due to the extended reduction in the flexible fuel tax rate.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance expects the upward trend in tax revenue to continue in the second half of the year. An official from the ministry stated, “The operating profit in the semiconductor sector and related bonuses will be reflected sequentially, starting with the August provisional payment of corporate tax.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.