The national coffers last month swelled by NT$293.9 billion (US$9.93 billion) in tax revenue, up a fractional 0.2 percent from a year earlier, but slowing from April due to of a plunge in securities transactions and tariffs waived on import items, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
The tax revenue data came after business and property taxes climbed to record highs, but stock trading taxes slumped 51.2 percent to NT$14.4 billion, the biggest fall since March 2013, as wild TAIEX swings drove investors to the sidelines, Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Chen Yu-feng (陳玉豐) said.
Headwinds are likely to persist as global funds redeploy in response to global monetary tightening, inflation and geopolitical conflicts, even though Taiwan’s economy remains resilient, Chen said.
However, cumulative securities transaction taxes of NT$79.9 billion for the first five months are still the second-highest on record, indicating a vibrant market, he said.
Personal income taxes climbed 15.5 percent in May to NT$33.9 billion, enabling the collective sum for the first five months to reach a new peak on the back of pay increases, dividend income and property gains from trading in presale projects, the official said.
It is too early to determine if this year’s budget targets can be met, as many people have not yet filed income taxes given the June tax filing deadline extension, Chen said.
Business taxes spiked 18.7 percent to NT$101.5 billion, thanks to imports of expensive electronic components, as well as mineral, chemical and base metal products, the ministry said.
Corporate taxes gained 7.2 percent to NT$23.2 billion, aided by healthy earnings, which could slow later this year, as remote working and remote learning benefits ease.
Sales taxes tumbled 24.4 percent to NT$12.8 billion after the government suspended tariffs on imported energy, grain and key raw materials to mitigate inflationary pressures, Chen said. This tax category is likely to lag behind expectations this year, he said.
For the first five months, the government collected NT$911.8 billion in tax revenue, a mild 2.1 percent increase from the same period last year and ahead of schedule by 7.6 percent.
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