Securities transaction tax revenue up 234% in Q1… Discussions on transitioning to a financial investment income tax are becoming more burdensome

Securities transaction tax revenue in the first quarter of this year was found to have more than tripled compared with the same period last year. As the domestic stock market continued to rise sharply and swing wildly, trading increased, and the transaction tax imposed on sales regardless of profit or loss helped expand tax revenue. According to the Ministry of Finance and Economy, securities transaction tax revenue from January to March came to 2.8 trillion won, up 234.6% from 800 billion won in the same period last year. In addition, the fact that the transaction tax rates for the KOSPI and KOSDAQ were raised to 0.15% and 0.2%, respectively, starting this year also helped boost tax revenue. The government significantly raised its forecast for securities transaction tax revenue during the process of drafting this year’s budget and supplementary budget. However, as the transaction tax contributes to securing tax revenue, there is an observation that discussion on reintroducing the financial investment income tax, on the premise of abolishing the securities transaction tax, is unlikely to gain momentum for the time being.