Hong Kong's tax revenue rose to a record HK$238.3 billion in the 2011-2012 financial year, spurred by profits and wage tax gains.
That was an increase of 14 per cent from the previous record in the preceding year.
The taxman collected HK$118.6 billion in profits tax, up 27 per cent from the year earlier, while wage tax rose 17 per cent to HK$51.8 billion.
'These increases were because of a good economic performance in the first half of last year, and they were mainly generated by a small number of firms earning high profits and a small group of high-income individuals,' said Chu Yam-yuen, commissioner of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD).
Owing to the city's narrow tax base, the highest-earning 200,000 individuals paid 80 per cent of the income tax. And just 10 per cent of roughly 91,000 firms had to pay profits tax.
However, stamp duty revenue fell 13 per cent to HK$44.4 billion due to fewer transactions in the stock and property markets after August because of the global economic jitters.