Allianz Taiwan Life Insurance Co (安聯人壽) yesterday restated its objection to the government’s plan to tax investment-linked insurance policyholders, saying the proposed change should go through the legislative process before being instituted.
Allianz CEO Chris James, also chairman of the insurance committee of the European Chamber of Commerce Taipei, described the plan a mistake that could discourage long-term investment.
The Cabinet’s Tax Reform Committee reached a consensus last month to impose income, gift and inheritance taxes on investment-linked insurance policies to close a longstanding loophole that allows for tax evasion.
CABINET APPROVAL
The proposal, which must be approved by the Executive Yuan, is likely to take effect next year after the Financial Supervisory Commission draws up details for its implementation.
James said investment-linked products offer customers flexible and cost-efficient life insurance and savings as an alternative to the more opaque traditional products.
However, Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德) said last month the proposed change would have limited impact, as existing policies will not be affected and only gains above exemption thresholds would be taxed.
James said he would keep trying to reverse the proposal through proper channels.
Despite the complaint, Allianz Taiwan Life set up a customer service center yesterday to better serve customers and mark its 10th anniversary.
The company said it intended to add 1,000 agents to its payroll this year to boost its presence in Taiwan.
PROPERTY
James said the local property market offered promising business potential amid warming trade ties with China, and the company would not rule out taping the potential after reviewing its asset allocation plan.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle
RSS