Source: Reuters
01.02.2008
BUENOS AIRES, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Argentina's tax revenue jumped more than 33 percent in 2007 from a year earlier to a record high due to robust consumer spending and higher export tax earnings, the government said on Wednesday.
The tax take for December rose 39 percent from the same month a year earlier to 19.62 billion pesos ($6.20 billion) -- outstripping market expectations.
In a Reuters poll, seven local and international analysts had a median forecast of 18.70 billion pesos for the monthly figure, ranging between 18.16 billion and 19.86 billion pesos.
They said strong sales in the run-up to Christmas would raise revenue from the value-added tax, and they also cited the impact of inflation.
Inflation has been a persistent problem as growth surges, fueled by a consumer boom. Partly to tame local prices, the government raised export taxes on key agricultural commodities, crude oil and gasoline.
Tax receipts reached a record 199.78 billion pesos in 2007, up from 150.01 billion a year earlier. The tax take in 2006 was also a record.
Government tax revenue totaled 14.12 billion pesos in December 2006 and 18.41 billion pesos in November 2007 ARECI10.
A central bank poll from last month forecast December's tax take at a median of 18.80 billion pesos BCRA30. ($1 = 3.165 Argentine pesos) (Reporting by Damian Wroclavsky; Translated by Helen Popper; Editing by Neil Stempleman)
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