Taipei, June 19 (CNA) Businesses in northern Taiwan contributed the most to the national coffers compared with other areas of the country in 2011, accounting for some 32.2 percent of the total tax returns from businesses for that year, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.

Tax returns filed by businesses in northern Taiwan totaled NT$77.23 billion (US$2.58 billion) for 2011, up slightly from NT$77.20 billion in 2010, according to data compiled by the ministry's National Tax Administration of Northern Taiwan.

Business tax returns for 2011 for the nation as a whole totaled NT$239.15 billion, down from NT$239.87 billion in the previous year, the ministry said.

Northern Taiwan is home to most of the country's high-tech companies, the top three most profitable of which contributed some NT$20 billion to the national coffers, it said.

The top-paying company alone contributed NT$10 billion, it noted.

The administration estimated that the total amount of tax revenue for 2011 for the northern Taiwan area will be around NT$381.2 billion.

(By Eva Feng and Ann Chen)
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