In response to lawmakers’ requests, Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和) yesterday said the ministry might consider dropping its plan to sell government agencies’ shares in local companies that do not play a role in policymaking if it finds it is capable of finding other financial resources.
The ministry last month said it is scheduled to unveil a revenue-boosting package by the end of this year to reduce the nation’s budget deficit, following reports that the nation is likely to see a significant shortfall in tax revenue this year.
Based on the latest report issued by the ministry, if tax revenue generated in the last three months of this year remains flat from last year, the shortfall in tax revenue may amount to NT$65.7 billion (US$2.23 billion).
However, after the prices for the nation’s 4G spectrum telecom licenses added up to NT$100.71 billion in the latest bidding on Friday last week, lawmakers voiced confidence that the higher-than-expected prices may help cover the tax shortfall for this year, and possibly for next year.
That led various lawmakers to request that the ministry drop its plan, in which government agencies would sell NT$6.5 billion of shares of local companies.
Chang said the government had budgeted for NT$30 billion in income from the bidding, which indicated a price higher than NT$100 billion could cover the tax shortfall this year.
However, the sale of shares by government agencies was to cover the expected tax shortfall next year, Chang added.
The ministry will do its best to find enough money, Chang said, adding that it may drop the plan if another source of funds is found.
In related news, the ministry is scheduled to launch a six-year plan from next year to claim back illegally occupied state-owned land.
The plan may help the government recoup NT$16.6 billion, including compensation and funds from the use of the land.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
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