Japan's revenue for fiscal 1997, which ended March 31, will probably fall below expenditures by 1.5 trillion yen, due mainly to a substantial drop in corporate tax revenues amid the stagnant economy, informed sources said Friday.

Overall tax collection for fiscal 1997 is expected to be 2.2 trillion yen lower than the initial estimate, due to weak corporate earnings, the sources said. The expected revenue shortfall will be the first in four years; in fiscal 1993 national finances suffered a 1.55 trillion yen budget deficit after the collapse of the asset-inflated bubble economy.

For the previous fiscal year, the government estimated general account tax revenue of 56.226 trillion yen under a supplementary budget, up 8 percent over fiscal 1996. But it now expects to receive around 54 trillion yen, the sources said.

In particular, the fall in corporate income tax, which accounts for a quarter of all tax receipts, will likely pull down overall tax revenue.