UPDATE 2-Argentine Nov tax take up 20.5 pct from year ago

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Argentina's November tax take rose 20.5 percent from a year earlier to 26.09 billion pesos ($6.83 billion), President Cristina Fernandez said on Wednesday.

The result topped analysts' expectations; the median forecast in a Reuters poll was for a tax take increase of 19 percent, or 25.8 billion pesos.

The government had been expected to release the figures on Thursday.

Fernandez said the improved tax revenue is a result of recent government measures to jump-start the economy after a slowdown earlier in the year.

'The economic measures are beginning to work and some sectors, such as the auto industry, are already showing clear signs of a rebound,' Fernandez said at a speech.

State tax receipts totaled 21.65 billion pesos in November 2008 and 26.42 billion pesos in October. The tax take hit a record of 27.29 billion pesos in May.

Argentina's tax revenue is tracked by economists as a gauge of the country's ability to repay debt.

(Reporting by Vivianne Rodrigues; Editing by Leslie Adler) Keywords: ECONOMY ARGENTINA/TAX ([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.