Taiwan-based businesses paid NT$726.01 billion (US$8.99 billion) in corporation tax last year, an increase of 7.8 percent compared with the previous year, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday last week.
The top contributor of corporation tax paid about NT$100 billion as of May 31, the deadline for filing tax returns for last year’s tax season, the ministry said.
Although the ministry did not say which company paid the most corporation tax last year, citing nondisclosure regulations, a comparison of publicly available financial information suggests that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was the top contributor.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
TSMC posted a record high NT$1.01 trillion in net profit last year, up 70.4 percent from a year earlier, and revenues increased 42.6 percent to reach a record high of NT$2.26 trillion, on the back of the company’s lead over its peers in advanced technology development.
The second-largest contributor of corporation tax, believed to be container cargo shipper Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運), paid about NT$27 billion to the government’s coffers after reporting NT$375.9 billion in consolidated sales and record-high profit of NT$180.6 billion last year.
Contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) is believed to have paid more than NT$10 billion in corporation tax, with the fourth-largest contributor, believed to be iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), paying about NT$8 billion.
The ministry said its National Taxation Bureau of the Northern Area — which covers New Taipei City, Taoyuan, and Hsinchu city and county — collected NT$326.38 billion in corporation tax last year, the most out of the ministry’s five regional offices.
The number increased by more than NT$70 billion, or 24.47 percent, from a year earlier, it said.
Among the ministry’s other regional offices, the National Taxation Bureau of Taipei collected NT$223.46 billion in corporation tax, down 2.4 percent from a year earlier, with analysts attributing the decline to financial services companies based in the capital paying out COVID-19 insurance claims.
The National Taxation Bureau of the Central Area collected NT$80.82 billion in corporation tax, while the National Taxation Bureau of Kaohsiung and the National Taxation Bureau of the Southern Area collected NT$63.52 billion and NT$31.84 billion respectively, the ministry said.
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