Tax revenues last month fell for the first time this year as the national treasury collected NT$193.1 billion (US$5.93 billion), a drop of 14.3 percent from the same period a year earlier, as an economic slowdown weighed on corporate and personal incomes, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
Corporate tax income slumped 38.4 percent year-on-year to NT$39.5 billion, while personal tax income dropped 5.6 percent to NT$38.9 billion, as companies and individuals reported less earnings amid a global slowdown, the ministry said.
“The slowdown is affecting tax revenues as evidenced by persistent falls in securities, property and car transactions,” a ministry official said.
New car licenses plunged 27.4 percent to 25,226 units last month, reducing commodity tax revenues on locally made cars by 15.8 percent year-on-year, the ministry’s report said.
However, commodity tax revenues on imported cars increased 13.8 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said, as a weak yen and euro continued to spur demand.
Securities transactions tax revenues lost an extra 4.1 percent last month to NT$6.2 billion from a year ago, reflecting a lack of confidence on the part of investors, the report said.
Revenue from property taxes fell 5.8 percent annually to NT$6.8 billion last month, while the number of deals dropped 2.3 percent, the report said.
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