Seoul: South Korea's tax revenue fell by 11.3 trillion won (US$8.19 billion) from a year earlier during the first nine months of 2024 due mainly to weak corporate earnings, data showed Thursday. The government collected 255.3 trillion won of taxes over the January-September period, marking a 4.3 percent decline from the 266.6 trillion won recorded during the same period last year. According to Yonhap News Agency, the decrease in tax revenue was primarily driven by a significant drop in corporate tax collection, which fell by 24.2 percent or 17.4 trillion won, totaling 54.5 trillion won, as local businesses experienced weak earnings last year. The operating profits of companies listed on the main bourse dropped 45 percent on-year in 2023, while those of firms listed on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market tumbled 39.8 percent. The data also showed that the amount of income tax collected rose slightly by 0.5 percent over the cited period to 85 trillion won. Additionally, the value-added tax reached 60.5 trillion won in the January-September period, reflecting a 10.3 percent increase from a year earlier due to rising consumption. However, tax collection from securities transactions decreased by 19.7 percent to 3.9 trillion won amid a bearish domestic stock market situation. In September alone, the country's total tax revenue decreased by 7.7 percent on-year to 23.1 trillion won. South Korea is projected to experience a significant tax revenue shortfall for the second consecutive year in 2024. The government anticipates collecting 337.7 trillion won in taxes this year, an 8.1 percent or 29.6 trillion won reduction from its forecast made in the 2024 budget planning. The revised amount is also 6.4 trillion won smaller than the tax revenue of 344.1 trillion won last year when the country faced a record shortfall of 56.4 trillion won.