South korea: South Korea's tax revenue rose by more than 23 trillion won (US$16.6 billion) from a year earlier in the first seven months of the year, driven largely by a surge in corporate tax collection, the finance ministry said Friday. The government collected 232.6 trillion won in taxes during the January-July period, up 23.8 trillion won from the same period last year, according to data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the sharp increase was due to higher corporate tax revenue, which reached 47.4 trillion won, marking a 14.5 trillion-won increase from the same period last year. The ministry attributed the rise to improved corporate earnings and increased income from corporate interest and dividend payments the previous year.

Income tax revenue rose by 9 trillion won on-year to 77.1 trillion won, driven by a rise in bonus payments and an increase in the number of employed workers. In contrast, value-added tax revenue fell by 1.5 trillion won during the same period, partly due to a rise in tax refunds, the ministry added.