Brazil January tax receipts up 10.5 pct on year

BRASILIA, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Brazil collected 38.58 billion reais ($18.5 billion) in taxes in January, a rise of 10.5 percent versus the same month a year ago, the government tax authority said on Thursday.

Tax receipts totaled 34.91 billion reais in January 2006 after adjusting for inflation.

Strong tax revenues in recent years have helped Brazil meet its budget surplus target, before interest payments, of 4.25 percent of gross domestic product.

The government uses the surplus to pay down Brazil's large debt load. But it could lower the target to 3.75 of GDP this year if tax revenues fail to offset additional spending.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced an ambitious infrastructure investment program in January.