Ruling lawmakers yesterday challenged the Ministry of Finance to suspend securities transaction, inheritance and gift taxes in an attempt to invigorate the stock market and turn Taiwan into a regional financial hub.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said that she and other colleagues were drafting a bill that would authorize the ministry to scrap the securities transaction levy for up to a year to encourage investors to buy local shares.
Lu said her bill would be more effective than the Cabinet’s measure in shoring up the TAIEX.
On Sept. 10, the Cabinet proposed halving the tax from the current 0.3 percent to 0.15 percent for six months, starting next month, after the benchmark index slumped for an entire week.
During a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee, Lu appealed to Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德).
“The ministry should demonstrate more boldness and accept our bill instead,” Lu said.
Sun Ta-chien (孫大千), another KMT lawmaker, said the ministry should consider abrogating inheritance and gift taxes altogether to be competitive with Hong Kong and Singapore.
Sun said he doubted Taiwan could successfully lure foreign capital if it keeps its inheritance and gift taxes after Hong Kong and Singapore axed theirs.
In related news, the minister said that state-owned banks hold about NT$10 billion (US$312 million) in bonds and other investment products related to the financially beleaguered Lehman Brothers Holdings.
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