May Securities Transaction Tax Surges 2.9 Times Year-on-Year to NT$70.4 Billion, Setting a New Monthly Record

(Central News Agency, Reporter Lu Yan-ci, Taipei, June 11) Taiwan's Ministry of Finance today released preliminary national tax revenue statistics for May. Benefiting from the sustained rally in the Taiwan stock market, the net securities transaction tax (STT) collection for the month reached NT$70.4 billion, setting a new single-month record. This represents a 2.9-fold increase year-on-year, the highest growth rate in over 22 years. The cumulative STT collection for the first five months of the year was NT$248.7 billion, also a record high for the period.

According to the preliminary statistics released by the Ministry of Finance today, the net tax revenue for May was NT$577 billion, the highest since August 2025, with an annual increase of 84%. The increase was primarily driven by a NT$166.9 billion rise in corporate income tax, a NT$52.3 billion rise in STT, and a NT$20.9 billion rise in business tax.

Deputy Director of the Ministry of Finance's Statistics Department, Liu Jung-jung, stated that with the continued heating up of artificial intelligence (AI) and the boost from rising international stock markets, the Taiwan stock market extended its strong rally from April in May, with both prices and trading volume rising. On May 4, the market recorded its largest single-day point gain in history, with the closing index surging 1,779 points, officially breaking through the 40,000-point mark. After a period of high-level consolidation in mid-May, the market quickly stabilized and rebounded. Subsequently, on May 21, 25, and 29, the closing index all surged by over 1,000 points, successively entering the top 10 list of largest single-day point gains in history.

Deputy Director Liu added that from May 26 to 29, the trading value on the Taiwan stock market continuously broke records, with May 29 seeing the highest single-day trading volume in history, presenting an overall pattern of strong synchronous growth in both price and volume.

Deputy Director Liu said that at the end of May, the Taiwan Stock Exchange Capitalization Weighted Stock Index (TAIEX) closed at 44,733 points, a new all-time high. This was a sharp increase of 5,806 points from the end of April, marking the second-largest single-month point gain in history, following April's performance, representing an increase of 14.9%. Furthermore, the average daily trading value in May was NT$1.5324 trillion, once again setting a new historical high, a 2.9-fold increase year-on-year.

Deputy Director Liu indicated that the consistently high trading value on the Taiwan stock market drove the net STT collection for May to NT$70.4 billion, breaking the previous single-month record and crossing the NT$70 billion mark for the first time. The 2.9-fold year-on-year increase was the highest since April 2004, marking the 10th consecutive month of positive growth. The cumulative STT collection for the first five months was NT$248.7 billion, a record high for the period, a 1.7-fold increase year-on-year, the highest for the same period since 1998.

She also mentioned that since the beginning of June, the broader market index has fallen by over 1,000 points. As of today, the average daily trading value is NT$1.5797 trillion, similar to the May average. However, the stock market has been extremely volatile, making future developments difficult to predict.

Among other tax categories showing year-on-year increases in May, STT, house tax, and stamp tax all set new single-month records, while futures trading tax, business tax, and amusement tax set new records for the month of May. Specifically, the May house tax benefited from an increase in the number of taxable properties, with a net collection of NT$59.2 billion, an 8.7% increase year-on-year.

The net business tax collection for May was NT$129.9 billion, a 19.2% increase year-on-year. This was driven by stable domestic demand and an increase in import-related withholding taxes for information and communication technology, audio-visual products, and electronic components. However, robust exports led to an increase in tax refund applications from businesses eligible for the zero export tax rate, offsetting part of the increase.

The total net tax revenue for the first five months was NT$1.422 trillion, a 39.2% increase year-on-year, a record high for the period. This includes record highs for customs duties, consolidated income tax, estate tax, STT, futures trading tax, business tax, house tax, vehicle license tax, stamp tax, and amusement tax.

Observing the tax revenue situation of various levels of government, the central government's net tax revenue for the first five months was NT$795.4 billion, accounting for 118.8% of the allocated budget.

Deputy Director Liu stated that although the new Fiscal Revenue and Expenditure Allocation Act has taken effect, significantly reducing the central government's share of business tax revenue, income tax revenue increased by 78.2% year-on-year due to differences in payment periods, and STT also grew substantially by 1.7 times. These factors offset each other, resulting in an overall increase. For local governments, due to an increase in centrally coordinated tax allocations, the net tax revenue for the first five months was NT$580.1 billion, a 76.5% increase year-on-year. (Editor: Lin Shu-yuan) 1150611