Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, paid NT$55 billion (US$1.84 billion) in corporate income tax last year, retaining its title as Taiwan’s biggest contributor, data compiled by the Ministry of Finance showed.
TSMC was the only company in Taiwan to pay more than NT$50 billion in corporation income tax last year, after the chipmaker posted a record profit of NT$596.54 billion, up more than 15 percent from 2020.
Chinese-language media reported that the chipmaker accounted for about 8.4 percent of the NT$652.4 billion in total corporate income tax revenue collected by the ministry last year, a 10 percent year-on-year increase.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
After TSMC, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運), one of Taiwan’s leading cargo shippers, took second place, paying about NT$27 billion in corporate income tax for profits made last year, the data showed.
Yang Ming benefitted from a freight rate surge driven by a shortage in cargo shipping services, robust demand and serious port congestion worldwide.
Fellow shipping line Wan Hai Lines Ltd (萬海航運) was the third-largest taxpayer, paying more than NT$15 billion in corporate income tax, the reports said.
Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運), Taiwan’s largest container cargo shipper, ranked fourth, paying more than NT$12 billion, the reports said.
The National Taxation Bureau’s branch responsible for New Taipei City, Taoyuan, and Hsinchu city and county collected the largest share of corporate tax among the taxation bureau’s five branches, with NT$256 billion last year, up more than NT$100 billion, or 64.16 percent, from a year earlier.
The bureau’s tax revenue was boosted by major tech companies with production bases in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), which is home to TSMC’s headquarters.
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