Tax revenue last month rose 3 percent from a year earlier to NT$170.3 billion (US$5.33 billion), aided by active stock trading and vehicle sales, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday.
The increase came even though corporate income tax revenue declined 2.4 percent annually to NT$14.3 billion and personal income tax revenue dropped 10.5 percent year-on-year to NT$81.9 billion, as listed firms distributed less cash dividends, the ministry said.
Securities transactions generated NT$22.1 billion in tax revenue last month, spiking 56.1 percent from a year earlier and rising for a fourth consecutive month, as companies associated with artificial intelligence (AI) saw their share prices spike and listed exchange-traded funds touting high cash dividends gained immense popularity, ministry statistics official Liang Kuan-shuan (梁冠璇) said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
AI-related firms, many of which supply servers and devices used in PCs and peripheral products, accounted for 32 percent of stock turnover last month, an unprecedented phenomenon, Liang said.
The AI hype helped drive average daily turnover on the local stock market up 55.5 percent year-on-year to NT$392.1 billion last month, ministry data showed.
In the first eight months of the year, securities transaction tax revenue increased 4.3 percent to NT$128.9 billion, Liang said, adding that it was the second-highest level ever recorded and not far off the ministry’s full-year target of NT$155.1 billion.
Sales of imported vehicles proved another bright spot, helping hoist sales tax revenue 5.7 percent to NT$14.4 billion and tariffs 11.3 percent to NT$15.1 billion last month, she said.
Automakers and dealers remain upbeat about vehicle sales and the national treasury would receive further support, Liang said.
Cumulative tax revenue in the first eight months totaled NT$2.46 trillion, representing an 8.7 percent increase from the same period last year and ahead of the government’s budget goal by 15.5 percent, the ministry said.
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