Tax collections in Brazil accounted for more than 35.3 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2007, up from 34.04 percent in 2006, the Secretariat of Federal Revenue said on Friday.

The total tax collected by the local, state and federal governments jumped from 794 million reais (US$333.5 million) in 2006 to 903 million reais (US$379.3 million)in 2007, the secretariat said.

The federal tax amounted to 24.7 percent of Brazil's GDP last year, up from 23.6 percent in 2006. The state tax was 9 percent of the GDP, the same as in 2006 while taxes collected by local governments rose slightly from 1.5 percent of the GDP in 2006 to 1.6 percent in 2007.

The secretariat said the increase was due to the sound performance of corporations that earned more profits because of favorable economic conditions during the period.

The biggest increases were registered with income tax, workers' social security contribution paid by employers, and the tax over net profit, the secretariat said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2008)