Taiwan's Tax Revenues Surge 4.7% to US$28.08 B in First-half

Taipei, July 20, 2010 (CENS)--Taiwan's tax revenues in June totaled about US$7.35 billion, down US$2.9 billion or 28.3% from a year earlier, with the first six-month tax revenues totaling US$28.08 billion for an annual growth of US$1.27 billion or 4.7%, according to the statistics released by the Ministry of Finance (MOF).

Last year the total tax revenues reached US$47.82 billion, which this year is expected to be higher due to the obvious economic recovery. So, the government's tax revenue goal for this year is US$50.52 billion, 55.6% of which has been reached in the first half.

In the first half, Taiwan's consolidated income tax revenues plummeted US$1.022 billion or 13.8% to US$6.36 billion, the second largest fall of its kind since 2002.

L.C. Lin, director at the Department of Statistics under MOF, attributes the above fall to the global downturn, which shuttered enterprises, cut wages and raised unemployment, as well as MOF's policy to raise personal income tax deductible to ease taxpayers' burden.

In June business tax and consolidated income tax revenues both dropped sizably, with the former down by US$1.49 billion and the latter by US$1.09 billion. In the same month Taiwan's stock market was impacted by the European debt crisis: average daily trading value totaled US$2.49 billion and US$512.5 million in the over-the-counter market, causing the securities trading tax revenue to tumble US$150 million or 42.8% to only US$200 million.

In the first six months the business, land value increment, commodity and customs tax revenues were all on uptrends, with the land value increment tax revenue surging an annual US$475 million or 67.6% to US$1.18 billion.

Breakdown of Taiwan's Tax Revenues in First Half
Item	Revenues (NT$B)	Annual growth (%)
Customs tax	42.011	35.3
Business income tax	188.095	1.0
Consolidated income tax	203.392	-13.8
Heritage & donation tax	11.115	13.2
Commodity tax	71.51	19.8
Wine & tobacco tax	20.919	-13.5
Securities trading tax	48.585	1.5
Futures trading tax	2.271	34.6
Business tax	124.481	26
Land value increment tax	37.682	67.6
Housing tax	55.82	3.5
License tax	50.876	1.9
Deed tax	6.938	24.2
Stamp tax	4.261	6.6
Entertainment tax	0.817	-3.3
Total	898.418	4.7

Source: MOF