The government may impose a tax on luxury goods, such as imported automobiles and lavish jewelry, in the next six months at the earliest, although it has no plan to levy a tax on money from overseas investments, Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德) said yesterday.
Lee made the remarks during his question and answer session at the legislature.
The ministry is considering imposing a tax ranging from 5 percent to 20 percent on certain luxury goods, the minister said.
Lee made the comment after taking questions from lawmakers on the potential impact of a luxury tax. Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) has suggested taxing luxury jewelry, watches and imported cars to help narrow income gaps.
About 5 percent of tax payers would be affected by the new taxes, the ministry said.
Lee said the ministry could draw up a measure in six months without dampening purchases of luxury goods.
The minister avoided questions about when the tax would be imposed, saying a definite timetable needs further study to avoid the taxes affecting the economy.
Lee, however, said the ministry has no plan to follow South Korea’s steps and impose a tax on money from overseas investments.
“The economic situation in Taiwan differs from that in South Korea and other countries,” Lee said. “It is better to rein in hot money through capital controls, as all taxes should remain neutral.”
Sweeping policy changes under US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr are having a chilling effect on vaccine makers as anti-vaccine rhetoric has turned into concrete changes in inoculation schedules and recommendations, investors and executives said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has in the past year upended vaccine recommendations, with the country last month ending its longstanding guidance that all children receive inoculations against flu, hepatitis A and other diseases. The unprecedented changes have led to diminished vaccine usage, hurt the investment case for some biotechs, and created a drag that would likely dent revenues and
Macronix International Co (旺宏), the world’s biggest NOR flash memory supplier, yesterday said it would spend NT$22 billion (US$699.1 million) on capacity expansion this year to increase its production of mid-to-low-density memory chips as the world’s major memorychip suppliers are phasing out the market. The company said its planned capital expenditures are about 11 times higher than the NT$1.8 billion it spent on new facilities and equipment last year. A majority of this year’s outlay would be allocated to step up capacity of multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory chips, which are used in embedded multimedia cards (eMMC), a managed
CULPRITS: Factors that affected the slip included falling global crude oil prices, wait-and-see consumer attitudes due to US tariffs and a different Lunar New Year holiday schedule Taiwan’s retail sales ended a nine-year growth streak last year, slipping 0.2 percent from a year earlier as uncertainty over US tariff policies affected demand for durable goods, data released on Friday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed. Last year’s retail sales totaled NT$4.84 trillion (US$153.27 billion), down about NT$9.5 billion, or 0.2 percent, from 2024. Despite the decline, the figure was still the second-highest annual sales total on record. Ministry statistics department deputy head Chen Yu-fang (陳玉芳) said sales of cars, motorcycles and related products, which accounted for 17.4 percent of total retail rales last year, fell NT$68.1 billion, or
In the wake of strong global demand for AI applications, Taiwan’s export-oriented economy accelerated with the composite index of economic indicators flashing the first “red” light in December for one year, indicating the economy is in booming mode, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Moreover, the index of leading indicators, which gauges the potential state of the economy over the next six months, also moved higher in December amid growing optimism over the outlook, the NDC said. In December, the index of economic indicators rose one point from a month earlier to 38, at the lower end of the “red” light.
RSS