The national budget posted a deficit of 36.6 trillion won in January–April this year. It was the smallest shortfall in seven years. As tax revenue increases on the back of a boom in the semiconductor sector, the fiscal balance is also improving.
According to the June issue of Monthly Fiscal Trends that the Ministry of Planning and Budget released on the 11th, the consolidated fiscal balance without social security fund recorded a 36.6 trillion won deficit in January–April. The shortfall narrowed by 9.5 trillion won from a year earlier (-46.1 trillion won).
The cumulative deficit during this period was the smallest since January–April 2019 (-38.8 trillion won). It was the eighth smallest deficit since the government began compiling related data in 2012.
The consolidated fiscal balance without social security fund shows the country's actual finances. It is derived by subtracting the size of the four major social security funds, including the National Pension and employment insurance, from the consolidated fiscal balance, which is total revenue minus total expenditure.
Rising tax revenue largely drove an increase in total revenue. Total revenue for January–April this year was 272.3 trillion won, up 41.3 trillion won from a year earlier. Of total revenue, national tax receipts came to 164.1 trillion won. That is 39.5% of the amount planned in this year's budget, 1.3 percentage points higher than the progress rate a year earlier.
An official at the Ministry of Planning and Budget said, "Income tax increased due to higher performance bonuses and greater real estate transaction volume, and corporate tax also rose as corporations' results improved, led by semiconductors." Meanwhile, total expenditure over the same period was 285.6 trillion won, up 23.3 trillion won.
Although the national budget shortfall narrowed on higher tax revenue, government debt continued to rise. As of the end of April, central government debt was 1,321.7 trillion won, up 18.2 trillion won from the previous month. Compared with the end of last year, it increased by 53.5 trillion won.