The government should press ahead with green tax reform and set a timetable for implementation, academics said yesterday.
The Cabinet’s Tax Reform Committee reached a consensus on Monday to introduce an incremental levy on gasoline, diesel, gas and other energy sources, as well as on greenhouse gas emissions, starting in 2011 if all proceeds smoothly.
Lawmakers and business representatives, however, have questioned those plans, which are expected to raise gasoline prices up to nearly NT$40 a liter and electricity costs by 40 percent in the 10th year of the plan.
Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) assured the legislature yesterday that the Cabinet would not recklessly implement the proposed energy and greenhouse gas taxes.
Polaris Research Institute (寶華綜合經濟研究院) president Liang Kuo-yuan (梁國源) said the government should stand up to the pressure and push ahead with sustainable development plans.
“As a member of the world community, Taiwan should also do its part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Liang said by telephone. “The later the government faces the issue, the higher the costs will be.”
The green tax reform should not be taken as a downside for industry because there are great opportunities in carbon-dioxide reduction as well as energy reuse and recycle, the economist said.
“Going green is a long-term global trend and firms should not hesitate to tap into the markets,” Liang said.
The government could help by providing firms with incentives and allowing time for adjustment, he said. Rather than dragging down the economy, the tax plan could benefit industry and foster GDP growth, he said.
Hsu Chih-chiang (徐之強), an economics professor at National Central University, said the government should do what is right regardless of criticism.
“The tax rates are acceptable in light of the incremental design,” Hsu said by telephone. “Since everyone supports the reform, I don’t see why the government wants to wait in carrying it out.”
The TAIEX, frequently used to gauge the public sentiment, closed 2.2 points higher at 7,753.52 on turnover of NT$125.12 billion (US$3.8 billion) yesterday, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
Meanwhile, the NT dollar gained NT$0.05 to trade at NT$32.275 against the greenback, Taipei Forex Inc statistics said.
Winson Wang (王榮旭), an analyst at Marbo Securities Consultant Co (萬寶證券投顧), said that unlike capital gains levies, the energy and carbon dioxide taxes would have limited impact on investors even if it is implemented.
“All taxes are considered negative in the stock market,” Wang said by telephone. “But investors didn’t pay too much attention because the proposed levy is small.”
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