Tax revenues in the first five months of this year rose NT$132.9 billion (US$4.09 billion), or 25.1 percent, from a year earlier to NT$662.9 billion, which is NT$83.1 billion, or 14 percent, higher than the fiscal budget set for that period, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
“All categories saw substantial growth in the first five months, compared with the same period last year, indicating that the economy is showing evident signs of a recovery,” Lin Lee-jen (林麗貞), head of the ministry’s statistics department, told a media briefing.
Land value incremental taxes posted the largest growth, surging NT$15.7 billion, or 99.8 percent, from a year earlier to NT$31.5 billion, followed by business income taxes, which increased NT$49.6 billion, or 90.6 percent, to NT$104.4 billion.
Lin said that revenues from business taxes, in particular, rose NT$30.5 billion, or 31.3 percent year-on-year, to NT$127.9 billion in the first five months, returning to the pre-crisis level of NT$124.2 billion recorded in 2008.
Customs tariff revenues increased NT$8.7 billion, or 34.4 percent, from a year ago to NT$34.1 billion, while commodity taxes edged up NT$8.2 billion, or 16.7 percent, from a year earlier to NT$57.1 billion, ministry data showed.
Last month’s tax revenues also posted impressive growth, as the treasury collected a total of NT$269.9 billion, up NT$76.6 billion, or 39.7 percent, from a year earlier, with land incremental value taxes seeing the largest increase.
Taxes on capital gains from rising land value soared NT$3.7 billion, or 122.6 percent, year-on-year last month, followed by business income taxes, which increased NT$47.2 billion or 95.6 percent, and custom tariffs, which climbed NT$2.9 billion, or 60.4 percent, the ministry said.
However, revenues from securities transaction declined NT$3.3 billion, or 29.2 percent, from a year ago to NT$8 billion, which represented the second-lowest amount in a year, data showed.
Lin attributed the decline to reduced transaction volumes in the local stock markets.
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