Lin: We plan to formulate a method to calculate how much profit the party has obtained from the transactions and to ask them to return as much of this as possible. But to prevent the KMT from further dumping property, we suggested earlier this month that regulations be put into effect to invalidate any [KMT] transactions completed after July or August this year.
Some people argued that this does not conform to the legal principles underlying retroactive legislation, but the Statute for the Reduction of Farm Rent to 37.5 Percent (
TT: You once vowed that you would step down if the taxation reforms cannot be successfully brought about. How has that progressed so far?
Lin: We hoped to put some of the measures into practice within the next two years. The proposed raise in the business tax rate by one to two percentage points has received the most approval in general. That could be the most likely measure to be implemented in the near future and is expected to add an extra NT$30 billion to the country's coffers.
In the meantime, we will also implement supplemental measures, including lowering the inheritance tax rate to 40 percent from the current 50 percent.
TT: Taiwan's national debt is expected to reach NT$3.9 trillion at the end of this year, and the budget deficit has grown to over NT$300 billion this year. What is the ministry's cure for the problem?
Lin: The deteriorating budget deficit resulted from growing interest expenses, amounting to NT$150 billion this year, decreasing income from stock sales and increasing expenditures that eat into the government's investment spending.
Tax reform could help contain the expanding budget deficits, and an early implementation of finance reform would be the best way to bolster economic growth and bail out the nation's finances.
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