Insisting that the previous tax-cut policies were effective and necessary, Lee said they included raising the ceiling for income taxes and reducing custom tariffs and commodity taxes, which would benefit not only large corporations but also salary earners.
“But compared with Japan, Singapore and the US, Taiwan’s tax burden and national income are relatively low,” he said. “We are striving to make Taiwan a country with high tax burden, high national income and high public debt.”
Despite the soaring national debt, Lee remained confident regarding the nation’s financial condition.
He said the nation’s fiscal status was still “healthy” based on various indexes such as the government’s cash flow, debt balances and budget allocation, which are all in the reasonable range, as stipulated by law.
The minister said energy taxes would be imposed in two or three years at the earliest, that luxury taxes are still under discussion and that the timing for reinstating securities income taxes is not yet ripe.
“Basically, energy taxes will be imposed based on the principle of equality rather than to increase tax revenue,” he said, adding that the taxes were aimed at changing consumer behavior regarding energy efficiency.
Moreover, the ministry decided last month to increase the property tax on more than 10,000 high-end residences in Taipei City, effective July next year, in an effort to make housing taxation equitable.
Local media reported, however, that the increased amount of taxes would only have a minor effect on wealthy people and would fail to achieve the goal of fair taxation. Instead, those selected buildings will be officially labeled “luxury residences,” further driving up their prices.
“The government’s policies cannot please everyone,” Lee said, adding that old houses and those located in less prosperous locations may be taxed at a lower rate in the future.
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