South Korea’s budget deficit is expected to be higher than expected to surpass an earlier estimate of 3.4 trillion won ($3.1 billion) this year due to lower-than-predicted economic growth and inflation, a parliamentary report said Sunday. The National Assembly Budget Office in October forecast the government to collect 218.2 trillion won in taxes based on a 5.6 percent nominal growth rate, expecting a tax revenue shortfall of over 3 trillion won of this year.

In the latest report, the NABO said the state tax income will be lower than the October estimate as the government cut this year’s nominal growth forecast from 5.6 percent to 4.2 percent and slashed the real growth from 3.8 percent to 3.5 percent amid falling oil prices. (Yonhap)