South Korea's government collected a total of 138 trillion won (US$147.7 billion) in taxes last year, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said Monday.

The figure is 8.3 per cent higher than the 127.5 trillion won collected in 2005 and also 2 per cent higher than the original tax budget of 135.3 trillion won set for 2006, according to the ministry.

Income tax and comprehensive property tax rose sharply as the government enforced stronger regulations on home purchases and ownership, the report showed.

Income tax rose 25.8 per cent to 31 trillion won due to higher property capital gains taxes, while the comprehensive property tax more than doubled to 1.3 trillion won.

Corporate tax increased 1.5 per cent to 29.4 trillion won, while the value-added tax went up 5.5 per cent to 38.1 trillion won due to the recovery in private spending and increased imports.

Gift and inheritance tax rose 27.6 per cent to 2.4 trillion won, while the tax on securities transaction rose 6.5 per cent to 2.5 trillion won. In the meantime, customs duties increased 8.6 per cent to 6.9 trillion won, it said.