TAIPEI: February’s tax revenue fell 16.3 percent year-on-year to NT$57.1 billion, led by lower revenue in securities transactions, sales and land taxes, according to a Ministry of Finance report released here the other day.
The Finance Ministry said the annual decrease is due partly to fewer working days, as Chinese New Year fell this year in mid-February.
The local market was open for 13 days this month, down from 17 days in the same month last year, said Statistics Department Deputy Director Hsu Ray-lin in a Taipei press conference yesterday.
Revenue in securities transaction tax declined year-on-year by NT$1.5 billion to NT$3.8 billion, a decline of 28.5 percent.
February revenue from business tax declined NT$6.1 billion year-on-year to NT$157 billion on the slipping price of international crude oil.
Decreased crude costs have resulted in less revenue as related products cross the border, according to the Finance Ministry.
Land tax revenue in February fell by NT$1.3 billion to NT$6.6 billion — a 16.9 percent decrease — as tax offices received 5,895 fewer land tax filings due to fewer working days.
Meanwhile, revenue from alcohol and tobacco taxes declined by NT$1.1 billion, and revenue from income tax and profit-seeking-enterprise income taxes increased by NT$1.1 billion and NT$300 million, respectively.
The tax collected from January to February totals NT$191.1 trillion, or 1.8 percent less compared to the same period last year, according to the preliminary report.
The Finance Ministry said it retains an optimistic outlook on this year’s total tax revenue.
So far this year, the economic climate is warming, corporations are performing and the employment situation is improving, Hsu said.
The Directorate-General of Budgeting, Accounting and Statistics’ GDP growth forecast for the year is 3.78 percent, a healthy rate that should generate stable tax revenue, he said.
