South Korea's tax revenue was tallied at 31 trillion won ($27.9 billion) in May, up a sharp 12.4 trillion won from a year earlier, due to carried-over corporate tax earnings, data showed Tuesday.

But if corporate taxes had been collected on schedule, the country would have collected an estimated 21.4 trillion won in dues in May, up 2.9 trillion won over the cited period, the data compiled by the finance ministry showed.

Income tax revenue amounted to 11.5 trillion won in May, up 1.6 trillion won from a year earlier.

Dues collected by companies also increased 2.4 trillion won on-year to reach 12.1 trillion won in the one-onth period, the ministry said.

Value added tax revenue was 14.6 trillion won, up 10 trillion won from a year earlier.

In the first five months of the year, state tax earnings reached 140.7 trillion won, up 16.9 trillion won from a year earlier.

South Korea posted a budget surplus for the third year in a row in fiscal 2017 as its tax revenue rose sharply on increased corporate and value added taxes.

The gross revenue that the government brought in last year came to 359.5 trillion won, while expenditures totaled 342.9 trillion won.

Fiscal spending was tallied at 142.3 trillion won in the January-May period, 13.9 trillion won more spent than earlier scheduled, the data showed. (Yonhap)