January 3, 2006
Venezuela Says Tax Collection Rose 70% in 2005 to $17.9 Bln

(Bloomberg) - "Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, said tax collection rose 70 percent last year as a growing economy and a crackdown on evasion boosted revenue.

Tax collection --excluding oil taxes and royalties - totalled 38.4 trillion bolivars ($17.9 billion), the country's tax agency said in a statement. Tax collection for all of 2004 was 22.6 trillion bolivars.

The government's 2005 tax collection goal was 27.8 trillion bolivars. Tax revenue may reach 50 trillion bolivars in 2006, above the government's goal of 39.8 trillion bolivars, the agency said".