Taiwan’s booming stock market contributed to a record quarter of tax revenue, figures released yesterday by the Ministry of Finance showed.
Tax revenue for last month was NT$200.9 billion (US$7.06 billion), up 19.2 percent year-on-year, with cumulative tax revenue from January to March totaling a record NT$467.2 billion, an annual increase of 16.6 percent.
While gift, inheritance, business, alcohol and tobacco, and land value incremental tax revenues all reached double-digit growth in the first quarter, the most remarkable growth was in securities transaction tax revenue, which reached a record NT$55.9 billion in the first quarter, up 102.8 percent year-on-year.
Photo: Wu Chia-jung, Taipei Times
Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Chen Yu-feng (陳玉豐) said that Taiwan’s booming stock market has resulted in securities transaction tax revenue growing for 18 consecutive months.
“Average daily transactions on the Taiwan Stock Exchange for the first quarter totaled NT$400.7 billion,” Chen said.
Customs tariffs increased 10.3 percent year-on-year to NT$30.9 billion in the first quarter, which Chen attributed to an increase in tariffs on transportation equipment, machinery and food.
While Taiwan’s tax revenue has been increasing as a result of a flourishing economy, Chen said that first-quarter tax revenue was also bolstered by new housing projects in Taipei, New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Kaohsiung.
“All four cities saw deed taxes grow by more than NT$100 million in the first quarter,” Chen said.
Despite the general uptrend in tax collection, Chen said that this quarter’s record haul would not necessarily guarantee bumper revenues going forward.
“There are a lot of one-time events, such as the completion of housing projects falling in this quarter, that contributed,” she said.
Besides, the first quarter is not the most important tax quarter for the Taiwanese economy, Chen said.
“With income taxes due in May and June, the second quarter is the big one to watch,” she said.
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