South Korea's tax revenue fell 49.4 trillion won ($38.41 billion) during the first 11 months of 2023 compared with a year earlier due mainly to weak corporate activities and the prolonged slump in the property market, the finance ministry said Friday.

But the shortfall had decreased for the second month in a row thanks to the increase in last month's tax revenue.

Tax revenue came to 324.2 trillion won during the January-November period, down 13.45 percent, or 49.4 trillion won, from the previous year's 374.6 trillion won, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The shortfall had gotten smaller from 52.2 trillion won reported during the first eight months of this year to 50.9 trillion won through September and 50.4 trillion won by October.

The government collected 19 trillion won in taxes in November, up 1 trillion won from a year earlier, the second monthly gain of the tax collection.

The decline in the yearly revenue was due mainly to the fall in corporate taxes collected and income taxes.

The collection of corporate taxes amounted to 78 trillion won during the 11-month period, down 23.1 percent from a year earlier.

Listed companies in South Korea reported 14.6 trillion won of operating profits combined in the first half of this year, sharply down from 56.4 trillion won from the previous year, according to government data.

The amount of income tax collected lost 11.3 percent on-year to 107.8 trillion won due to the real estate market slump.

The value-added tax collected during the January-October period also went down 7.3 percent on-year to 72.3 trillion won on sluggish private consumption and the decline in imports.

The ministry has said that the country would suffer a shortfall of around 59 trillion won in tax revenue this year, as it was expected to collect 400.5 trillion won this year.

"There is the possibility of the government being able to collect more taxes than it previously forecast," a ministry official said. (Yonhap)