South Korea’s 2014 tax revenue is expected to fall short of the government’s earlier target amid a prolonged economic slowdown, the parliamentary budget office said Sunday.

The National Assembly Budget Office said that the gap between the government’s goal and actual tax revenue is expected to be between 11.7 trillion won ($10.6 billion) to 12.7 trillion won, compared with 8.5 trillion won tallied for last year. In 2012, the difference stood at 2.8 trillion won.

If confirmed, South Korea is expected to log a tax revenue shortage for the third straight year. Seoul is widely expected to post another shortfall next year as well, given the protracted economic slowdown.

The bleak outlook mainly comes as the South Korean economy is slowing down, beset by sluggish domestic demand and weakening corporate earnings.

South Korea’s economy grew 0.9 percent on-quarter in the third quarter, up from a 0.5 percent on-quarter gain in the second quarter when private consumption was hit hard, affected by the deadly ferry sinking in April. But on an on-year basis, the growth of the economy slowed to 3.2 percent last quarter from 3.5 percent.

Local firms’ net profit declined 11.9 percent on-year in the third quarter, compared with a 1.6 percent on-year gain in the second quarter. (Yonhap)