Taiwan stock market's volatile June yields record NT$80 billion in transaction tax

Taiwan's stock market saw a dramatic surge in trading volume in June, despite significant price fluctuations. This heightened activity propelled the securities transaction tax collection to a historic high, surpassing NT$80 billion for the first time. The Ministry of Finance reported that the net collection for June reached NT$84.9 billion, marking an increase of 2.8 times year-on-year and extending a streak of positive growth to 11 consecutive months.

For the first six months of the year, the accumulated securities transaction tax totaled NT$333.6 billion, a remarkable 1.89 times increase compared to the same period last year. This figure also represents a record high for the first half of any year.

Market analysts attribute the volatility to various factors. Early June saw sharp declines, with the main stock index dropping over a thousand points on two separate days, influenced by AI stock pullbacks and hawkish signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve. However, market confidence rebounded mid-month following progress in Middle East ceasefire talks, leading to significant gains. The month ended with renewed selling pressure on chip stocks and concerns over AI capital expenditures, causing another substantial drop, though the index recovered somewhat by month's end.

Despite the wild swings, the average daily trading value for listed and OTC stocks in June reached NT$1.54 trillion, a 2.6-fold increase from the previous year and a 0.5% rise from May. This sustained high trading volume directly contributed to the record tax revenue. While July's average daily trading value has been slightly lower, the market's recent increased volatility suggests that trading volumes and tax collections will remain areas to watch.