Liquor Tax Revenue Soars 25% Amid Slump
By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter
The government collects more and more taxes each year as the economy grows ― and even last year, despite the economic turmoil it saw a 2.9-percent increase.
Tax income from liquor, meanwhile, shot up.
The National Tax Service (NTS) said it collected 157.5 trillion won in taxes in 2008, the smallest year-on-year growth over the past few years. In 2005, the tax agency saw 9.3-percent growth; 8.2 percent in 2006; and 17.5 percent in 2007.
Tax collection was especially sluggish in items that react sensitively to the economy. Government income from special consumption tax ― levied on the consumption of high-priced goods such as jewelry and golf equipment ― plunged 12.8 percent. Special consumption tax totaled 4.5 trillion won last year, or 2.9 percent of the total.
Income from stock transaction tax dipped 19.6 percent from the previous year following the stock market trouble. It stood at 2.8 trillion won, or 1.8 percent of total national tax income.
The liquor tax, meanwhile, jumped 25.1 percent, implying that that more people sought alcohol to forget about their economic troubles. The government collected 2.8 trillion won in taxes from liquor, 1.8 percent of the total.
Value added tax made up biggest portion of tax income. Some 43.8 trillion won was amassed last year, or 27.8 percent of the total. Corporate taxes contributed 24.8 percent, while income tax accounted for 23.1 percent.
Income tax was 36.4 trillion won last year, 6.4 percent less than the previous year.
Namdaemun District Tax Office in downtown Seoul, where many conglomerate headquarters are located, collected the most among 107 tax offices around the country. It has topped the list for four consecutive years.
It collected 10.8 trillion won in taxes last year, or 6.9 percent of the country's total.
Yeongdeungpo District Tax Office, which is in charge of Yeouido, the country's ``Wall Street,'' followed with 8.8 trillion won.
Some 35.4 percent was collected in Seoul, followed by Gyeonggi Province with 10.9 percent. Jeju, meanwhile, contributed 0.2 percent, while North Jeolla Province collected just 0.8 percent.