Total Revenue for Fiscal Year 2020 Settlement Analysis

Published on August 17, 2021
Published by Estimates & Tax Coordination Division

    In Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, total revenues totaled KRW 478.8 trillion, recording an increase of KRW 5.7 trillion (1.2%) from KRW 473.1 trillion in FY 2019. The amount was KRW 8.1 trillion (1.7%) higher than the budget of KRW 470.7 trillion. National tax revenues, the major contributor to total revenues in recent periods, declined for a second year in a row due to reduced private consumption and corporate sluggishness following the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, non-national tax revenues reversed the recent declining trend to support the increase of total revenues, with non-tax revenues increasing by KRW 1.6 trillion (6.3%) and fund revenues increasing by KRW 12.2 trillion (7.9%) compared to the previous year.
    Despite the gradual recovery of the global economy from the pandemic, domestic and external uncertainties still persist primarily due to the spread of the Delta variant, which makes it difficult to stay optimistic about future tax collections. Considering the possibility of a slow economic recovery, stable fiscal management will take on greater significance in the years to come.
    This report is prepared to identify the implications for review of this year's fiscal management and next year's revenue budget based on the settlement of total revenues for FY 2020 submitted by the Administration. The report consists of three chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of total revenues in FY 2020. Chapter 2 analyzes the causes of the increase/decrease of each national tax item, the characteristics of national tax revenues in FY 2020, the impact of asset taxation in the changing asset market environment, and the current state of and issuessurrounding national tax default. Finally, Chapter 3 offers an analysis of non-national tax revenues by item and an in-depth review of the settlement of accounts for the eight major social insurances, and discusses the need for institutional measures to improve the accuracy of the non-tax revenue budget and bolster tax collection to address underpayment issues.