The government last month collected NT$76.8 billion (US$2.71 billion) in tax revenue, down 2.7 percent from February last year, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday, attributing the retreat to lower revenue from securities transaction and sales taxes.
Securities transaction tax revenue was NT$11 billion, down 13.9 percent year-on-year, as daily turnover shrank 9 percent to NT$362.9 billion, Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Chen Yu-feng (陳玉豐) said.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and expectations of the US Federal Reserve increasing interest rates drove investors to the sidelines, Chen said.
Photo: Clare Cheng, Taipei Times
Foreign portfolio managers have cut holdings in local shares, as they are concerned about fuel and grain price increases exacerbating supply chain disruptions and weighing on corporate profits.
However, most Taiwanese tech and non-tech firms posted hefty year-on-year revenue increases for January and last month, and are expecting month-on-month revenue increases for this month, after last month had fewer working days due to the Lunar New Year holiday.
The Financial Supervisory Commission has said that the local bourse is expected to lose trading momentum this year, as global central banks would phase out favorable programs intended to mitigate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most Western countries have chosen to tolerate the virus, it said.
Sales tax revenue was NT$10.7 billion, down 29.4 percent year-on-year, as the government cut the sales tax on oil and diesel imports to ease inflationary pressures, and component shortages weighed on automakers, the ministry said.
Personal income tax revenue jumped 33.3 percent to NT$9.3 billion and corporate income tax revenue rose 89.9 percent to NT$5.3 billion, it said, attributing the trend to year-end bonuses.
Revenue from land value increment tax gained 0.9 percent to NT$7.2 billion, as taxable cases picked up 1.9 percent, it said.
For the first two months, overall tax revenue expanded 5.1 percent to NT$280 billion, ahead of the budget schedule by 11.3 percent, the ministry said.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
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