TAIPEI: Revenue generated from personal income taxes last year rose more than 20 percent from 2014, partly due to measures that increased the tax burdens of stockholders and high-income earners, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
Citing preliminary statistics, the ministry said revenue from personal income taxes last year totaled NT$143.24 billion (US$4.44 billion), an increase of NT$25.2 billion, or 21.37 percent, from 2014.
One of the two tax measures that took effect last year was an increase in the highest marginal income tax, from 40 percent to 45 percent, levied on yearly incomes of above NT$10 million.
An estimated 9,500 taxpayers were subjected to the higher tax rate, the ministry said.
The other measure was halving the tax credits shareholders receive on their dividends, known in Taiwan as the imputed tax credit.
The credit, which taxpayers can directly deduct from the amount of tax they owe, was designed to avoid double taxation of corporate profits and represents the share of tax paid by a company on the dividends paid to its shareholders.
Stockholders could claim the full tax credit, which for many people rendered their dividends virtually tax free, but the new measure that took effect last year allows them to claim only half of the credit.
Many stock market investors have complained about the policy, saying it could force them to sell off some of their shares before listed companies dole out cash dividends, while others said it could hurt activity in Taiwan’s equity markets.
The ministry said it received a total of 6.19 million personal income tax returns last year, a rise of 2.77 percent from a year earlier.
The ministry said revenue from corporate income taxes last year totaled NT$293.64 billion, up NT$22.26 billion, or 8.2 percent, from a year earlier.
The ministry said many enterprises posted higher year-on-year profits despite an economic slowdown, pushing tax revenues higher.
The ministry said it received 868,317 corporate income tax returns last year, up 2.76 percent from 2014.
