Taiwan’s securities transaction tax for the first half of the year “hit a record $333.6 billion,” surpassing last year’s full-year total, with total tax revenue up over 80% year-on-year

The Ministry of Finance released its tax revenue ledger for the first half of the year: NT$2.5 trillion in tax receipts, up 81.5% year over year. Securities Transaction Tax was the biggest growth engine. In June alone, Securities Transaction Tax surged past NT$80 billion in a single month, with red months continuing for 11 straight months. The first-half cumulative total of NT$333.6 billion has already surpassed last year’s full-year figure.
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• June’s single-month Securities Transaction Tax first breaks above the NT$80 billion mark
• The truth behind the surge in income tax: low base effects
• Domestic demand supports the market, and business tax provides steady boosts

Based on the Ministry of Finance’s data, as of the end of June, the Securities Transaction Tax cumulative actual receipts totaled NT$333.6 billion—surpassing last year’s full 12 months’ collection of NT$292.8 billion in one fell swoop. As Taiwan stocks became increasingly active in trading, the curve of inflows into the treasury also climbed steadily and steeply.

Boosted by the strong lift from Securities Transaction Tax, total tax receipts for the first half reached NT$2.5876 trillion, with the year-over-year growth rate coming in at 81.5%. The Ministry of Finance also stated that the overall net amount actually collected in the first half had reached 124.9% of the cumulative allocated budget—clearly ahead of the originally planned schedule. Looking closely at individual tax items—including Securities Transaction Tax, estate tax, gift tax, stamp duty, individual income tax, corporate income tax, and customs duties—the achievement rate for all of them stood at more than 100%.

June’s single-month Securities Transaction Tax first breaks above the NT$80 billion mark

Liu Xunrong, deputy director of the Statistics Department of the Ministry of Finance, explained that in June, the daily average trading value of listed and OTC stocks kept climbing, reaching NT$1.5407 trillion and setting a new record high—2.6 times the level of the same period last year.

Transaction activity translated directly into tax revenue. In June, Securities Transaction Tax receipts came in at NT$84.9 billion, up 2.8 times year over year. This also marked the fourth consecutive month that this tax item rewrote its historical record for single-month performance, and it maintained positive growth for 11 consecutive months.

Converted to a more tangible picture: June had 21 trading days, meaning that, on average, about NT$4.04 billion was delivered to the treasury per trading day. The more volatile the market is and the more frequent the turnover becomes, the faster this “money-printing machine” of Securities Transaction Tax turns.

At present in Taiwan, Securities Transaction Tax is levied only when “selling stocks,” not when “buying stocks,” so transactions involving purchases do not incur the transaction tax.

The truth behind the surge in income tax: low base effects

Besides Securities Transaction Tax, the two major income taxes also posted astonishing results, but there is a detail to pay attention to.

For corporate income tax, the net amount for the first half was NT$780.3 billion, up 1.8 times year over year. In June alone, actual receipts were NT$588.3 billion, up 1.4 times. For individual income tax, the first-half cumulative total was NT$670.9 billion, up 1.3 times year over year, and the single-month figure for June—NT$405.0 billion—expanded even further to a 6-fold increase.

However, these multiples are not all a reflection of genuine strength. The Ministry of Finance pointed out the key reason: last year, due to the impact of equivalent tariffs, the tax payment deadline was extended all the way to the end of June. With the comparison base already on the low side, it boosted this year’s year-over-year growth multiples. In other words, whether the underlying fundamentals are truly strong or weak can only be judged cleanly after the deferred tax payments for July gradually come in. With the current 6-fold growth, the real value still needs to be verified.

Domestic demand supports the market, and business tax provides steady boosts

By contrast, business tax growth is far more solid. In the first half, business tax actual receipts totaled NT$349.6 billion, up 20.2% year over year. The Ministry of Finance attributed this to domestic consumption remaining steady, along with import withholding tax amounts for information and communications, audiovisual products, and electronic components rising in parallel—together pushing this portion of tax revenue higher.

The next set of tax figures in July will be the first test of whether the heat in Taiwan stock trading can continue, and the first checkpoint for the strength of real income tax growth.