Japan tax revenue grows in fiscal 2020 despite pandemic

US and Chinese economic recoveries and consumption levy hike boost receipts

The pandemic's impact on corporate earnings was not as bad as expected, which helped lift tax revenue for fiscal 2020. © Reuters

Nikkei staff writers

June 25, 2021 02:02 JST

TOKYO -- Japan collected more taxes in fiscal 2020 than the government had expected, with revenue coming in higher than fiscal 2019's pre-pandemic figure, helped by a limited impact on corporate earnings, Nikkei has learned.

Japan's tax revenue exceeded 58 trillion yen ($523 billion), beating the government's expectations by over 3 trillion yen, sources said. The total is higher than the 2019 revenue of 58.4 trillion yen, which had dropped by about 2 trillion yen from a record 60.4 trillion yen in fiscal 2018.