South Korea's tax revenue shrank 10 trillion won (US$7.22 billion) from a year earlier in the first half due mainly to weak corporate earnings, data showed Wednesday. The government collected 168.6 trillion won of taxes over the January-June period, down 5.6 percent from the same period last year, according to the data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance. In June alone, the country's total tax revenue fell 900 million won from a year earlier to come to 17.5 trillion won, due mainly to the falling collection of corporate tax and comprehensive real estate tax. Corporate tax collection sank 34.4 percent on-year to 30.7 trillion won in the first half due to poor performances by local businesses last year. Operating profits of companies listed on the main bourse dipped 45 percent on-year in 2023. Those of firms listed on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market also tumbled 39.8 percent, according to government data. But the amount of income tax collected went up 0.3 percent on-year to 58.1 trillion won on high int erest income and the growth in the number of employees. The amount of value-added tax surged 15.7 percent to 41.3 trillion won on the back of improved consumption. The tax collection from securities transactions shed 9.5 percent to 2.7 trillion won as the government lowered the tax rate, according to the ministry. Last year, the country's total revenue fell 77 trillion won on-year to 497 trillion won, as tax collections dropped due to poor corporate performance and the property market slump. "Tax revenue is forecast to rise in the second half of this year as companies showed better results in the first half and many plan to pay incentives to their employees," ministry official Yoon Soo-hyun said. Source: Yonhap News Agency