Korea's 2020 fiscal deficit nearly doubles on year to over $90 bn as of Nov

[Graphics by Song Ji-yoon]

South Korea’s fiscal deficit stretched to nearly 100 trillion won ($91 billion) by November last year after four rounds of supplementary budgets to fight Covid-19 and reduced corporate tax income.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Tuesday, the country’s fiscal deficit amounted to 98.3 trillion won for the January-November period in 2020, up 52.7 trillion won from the same period a year earlier. The deficit figure, which excludes social security account, is the largest ever for the 11-month period.

The central government’s liabilities stood at 826.2 trillion won at the end of November, up 13.4 trillion won from a month ago.

The Korean government upon creating the fourth supplementary budget for 2020 in September had estimated the annual fiscal deficit at 118.6 trillion won and national debts at 846.9 trillion won.

The full 2020 figures will be released in April.

The country’s total expenditure for the January-November period amounted to 501.5 trillion won, up 57.8 trillion won on year.

Meanwhile, the tax revenue shrank by 8.8 trillion won to 267.8 trillion won. The country collected 16.4 trillion won less from businesses. Revenue from value added tax fell by 4.1 trillion won, customs duties by 1 trillion won, and traffic tax by 600 billion won as social distancing measures sapped consumption and travel.

Income tax revenue rose by 8.5 trillion won thanks to growth in transfer income tax amid heated asset market. Tax incomes such as real estate tax and stock exchange tax also increased by 3.4 trillion won.

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