EDITORIAL: Truth behind tax revenue surplusTaiwan has had a tax revenue surplus every year since 2021, with last year’s figure reaching NT$528.3 billion (US$16.8 billion), which brought the cumulative surpluses of the past four years to NT$1.87 trillion, Ministry of Finance data showed. It is natural for some people to have such questions, as they mistakenly believe that tax revenue surplus means the government has extra income, but that is not the case. Tax revenue surplus simply means that the tax collected by the government exceeds the amount it projected. On the other hand, this year’s tax revenue shortfall might signal a correction in the structural inaccuracy of the government’s tax revenue forecasting model. The result was that actual tax revenue consistently exceeded the expected amount, creating a structural, excess tax revenue trend that continued year after year.

Source: Taipei Times December 29, 2025 16:45 UTC