Taxpayers poured a whopping HK$200.7 billion into government coffers last year 29 percent more than in 2006.
This record high in total revenue represented an increase of HK$45.5 billion over the previous years HK$155.1 billion.
But with tax cuts in the coming year, the Inland Revenue Department is projecting a 20 percent decline to HK$161.3 billion.
The increase was largely brought about by the prospering economy, with a significant growth in business profits and a general increase in salaries, plus the very active stock market and gradually blooming property market, Inland Revenue Commissioner Alice Lau Mak Yee-ming said yesterday.
The active stock and property markets last year resulted in a 106 percent increase in overall stamp duty revenues at HK$51.5 billion against HK$25.07 the previous year.
Total stamp duty from shares increased by 136 percent to HK$35.4 billion from HK$15.02 billion in 2006.
Stamp duty on property transactions rose by 62 percent to HK$15.7 billion against HK$9.7 billion in 2006.