South Korea's tax revenue surged greatly from a year earlier in the first four months partly on an increase in corporate and income taxes that may reflect a rise in consumption, the government said Friday.

In the January-April period, the government collected 96.9 trillion won ($83.2 billion) in taxes, up 23 percent, or 18.1 trillion won, from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

The four-month tally represents 43.5 percent of the government's annual target of 222.9 trillion won.

Corporate tax gained 5.6 trillion won from a year earlier to 23.5 trillion won in the first four months of the year, while the revenue from value-added taxes came to 30 trillion won, up 5.5 trillion won over the cited period.

"Corporate tax increased on the improved earnings of local companies with a fiscal year ending in December, while value-added tax rose on improvements in consumer spending in the first quarter," the ministry said in a press release.

The ministry added consumer spending expanded 2.1 percent on-year in the first quarter, following a 3.3 percent hike in the previous quarter.

Income taxes also added 3.9 trillion won from a year earlier to

21 trillion won, reflecting a rise in income and the recent increase in real estate transactions, the ministry said.

With a sharp rise in tax revenue, overall government income also climbed to 150.8 trillion won from 132.8 trillion won a year earlier.

As of end-April, overall government debt stood at 582.9 trillion won, up from 574.9 trillion won a month earlier.

The ministry, however, said the on-month rise in debt was only temporary, as the government pays back its debt every three months while it issues fresh state bonds each month. (Yonhap)