TAIPEI: The national treasury collected NT$162.2 billion (US$5.18 billion) in tax revenue last month, up 16.4 percent from a year earlier, as companies and individuals recorded income gains amid improved economic conditions, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
Business income taxes totaled NT$3.8 billion last month, more than double a year earlier, while personal income taxes jumped 30 percent to NT$30.6 billion, the ministry’s report showed.
The ministry attributed the rise to delayed tax payments linked to dividends and bonuses from February to last month.
Business taxes reached NT$65.4 billion last month, representing a 15 percent increase from a year earlier, due partly to higher private consumption, the report said.
However, land value increment taxes contracted 10.1 percent to NT$8.7 billion for the year, down 6.7 percent for the first quarter, affirming a sluggish property market, the report said.
For the first quarter, overall tax revenue advanced 5.8 percent to NT$353.4 billion, the highest level in 15 years, as corporate income taxes gained 82.5 percent and personal income taxes reported a 6.9 percent upturn, the report said.
The equities market also fared softly, as securities transaction taxes dropped 10.1 percent to NT$8.7 billion last month from a year earlier, the report said, adding that tax revenues were 13.4 percent less than the same period last year for the past quarter.
The retreat suggested room for improvement, the report said, although financial authorities have announced deregulation plans to boost trading volume.
