SEOUL, May 11 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's government tax revenue grew in the first quarter as an economic recovery from the pandemic-hit slump raised income and corporate taxes, the finance ministry said Tuesday.

National tax income came in at 88.5 trillion won (79.1 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-March quarter, up 19 trillion won (17 billion U.S. dollars) from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The income tax collection rose as the capital gains tax expanded amid higher housing transactions. The tax paid by the self-employed also made contributions.

The corporate tax income increased as a recovery from the economic downturn, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, lifted corporate earnings.

The government's gross income, including tax and non-tax incomes, amounted to 152.1 trillion won (136 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter, up 32.6 trillion won (29.2 billion U.S. dollars) from a year earlier.

The total expenditure gained 17.4 trillion won (15.6 billion U.S. dollars) to 182.2 trillion won (162.9 billion U.S. dollars) as the government kept its expansionary fiscal policy in place to tackle the pandemic.

The consolidated fiscal balance, or the gross income minus the total expenditure, recorded a deficit of 30.1 trillion won (26.9 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter, down from a deficit of 45.3 trillion won (40.5 billion U.S. dollars) a year earlier.

The managed fiscal deficit, which excludes the account on social security funds, amounted to 48.6 trillion won (43.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter, down 6.7 trillion won (6 billion U.S. dollars) from a year ago.

Debt, owed by the central government, stood at 862.1 trillion won (771 billion U.S. dollars) as of the end of March. The government sold 50.4 trillion won (45.1 billion U.S. dollars) worth of bonds in the first quarter. Enditem

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