Tax revenues in October fell 3.8 percent from a year earlier to 2.629 trillion yen because of a decline in income tax levied on long-term postal savings accounts and dwindling corporate tax receipts, the Finance Ministry said Monday.
It was the second consecutive month tax revenues have dropped since April and reflects the ongoing deterioration of the economy.
Income tax revenues fell 8.1 percent to 896.21 billion yen, with revenues from withheld tax down 7.9 percent to 870.95 billion yen and those from declared income tax down 13.7 percent to 25.27 billion yen.
The revenues rose from June through August thanks to the income tax levied on a large volume of maturing long-term postal savings accounts.
A ministry official said that for the entire year, receipts from postal savings would be lower than in 2000, although they were relatively brisk from the start.
Revenues from corporate taxation fell 5.9 percent to 370.38 billion yen, while that from consumption tax declined 0.8 percent to 488.57 billion yen.
The ministry has decided to lower its tax revenue projection for the current fiscal year by 1.1 trillion yen to 49.6 trillion yen, partly due to dwindling corporate tax receipts.
If the projection proves true, Japan's tax revenue will drop under 50 trillion yen for the first time since fiscal 1999.