Revenue from corporate taxes has drastically dropped, leading to a reduction in total tax revenue of 700 billion won, or around 508 million U.S. dollars, in May compared to a year earlier.

According to the finance ministry on Friday, tax revenue in May stood at 25-point-five trillion won, down 700 billion won from the previous year.

Corporate tax collection fell two-point-six trillion won, or 31-point-seven percent on-year, to five-point-five trillion won, due largely to small- to medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) struggling to complete tax payments amid liquidity problems.
  
A ministry official said there has been a lag between recovery in exports primarily driven by the nation's conglomerates in the first half of the year, and the inflow of cash to SMEs.

The cumulative total tax revenue for the first five months of this year reached 151 trillion won, down nine-point-one trillion won on-year, accounting for 41-point-one percent of the government's annual target for 2024.