Tax revenue last month rose 11.3 percent from a year earlier to NT$239.1 billion (US$7.4 billion), lifted mainly by gains in corporate and personal income taxes, as well as stock exchange transactions, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
Personal income tax revenue swelled 37.5 percent to NT$40.7 billion, as some firms distributed year-end bonuses last month, ministry statistics official Liu Shun-rong (劉訓蓉) said, adding that cash dividends and capital gains from property deals contributed to the increase.
There is a trend for firms and mutual funds to distribute cash dividends every quarter rather than annually, the ministry said.
Photo: Wu Chi-lun, Taipei Times
Corporate income tax revenue rose 5.7 percent to NT$9 billion as firms gradually emerged from an economic slowdown induced by inventory adjustments, sharp global inflation and monetary tightening, it said.
The improving macroenvironment lent support to the local bourse, which has seen capital inflows from mutual funds and foreign players seeking to take advantage of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, Liu said.
Taiwan is home to the world’s largest contract manufacturers of high-performance computing chips, high-capacity servers, storage, memory chips and other electronics.
Tax revenue from securities transactions in March spiked 65.6 percent to NT$29.1 billion, with average daily turnover soaring 88.4 percent from a year earlier to NT$551.7 billion, the ministry said, citing Taiwan Stock Exchange data.
The TAIEX climbed above the 20,000 points this month as dozens of local tech firms participate in supply of global AI infrastructure and services.
A positive wealth effect helped boost tax revenue from land value gains, which rose 13.8 percent to NT$7.8 billion, Liu said.
However, tax revenue from tariffs and sales of goods shrank 3.4 percent and 12.7 percent to NT$142 billion and NT$13 billion respectively, owing partly to a decline in vehicle imports, she said, adding that delayed recognition of vehicle sales contributed to the lackluster figures.
In the first quarter, the ministry collected NT$557.6 billion of tax revenue, a 14.5 percent increase from a year earlier and ahead of the government’s budget schedule by 16.4 percent, she added.
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