Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和) yesterday bid farewell to the ministry he has steered for nearly four years, leaving lingering controversial issues to his taciturn successor, Sheu Yu-jer (許虞哲).
A low-key and quiet person, Sheu, 63, has so far declined to shed light on any policy directions, partly out of respect for his long-standing predecessor.
When he is sworn in as minister today, it will be the third time Sheu has taken over a post from Chang, after previously replacing him as head of the National Taxation Bureau of Taipei and National Treasury Administration.
With a master’s degree in law from Harvard University and finance from National Chengchi University, Sheu will command a ministry that sets tax rates, divides budget funds and controls nine state-run lenders.
The incoming minister is to be met with expectations for a more socially equitable taxation system on one hand, and calls for tax cuts to invigorate the economy on the other.
The Financial Supervisory Commission on Tuesday urged the new government to stop taxing stock dividends to support the National Health Insurance system and even tax burdens on stock dividends for both domestic and foreign investors.
Lower tax burdens are necessary to make local capital markets more attractive compared with other bourses in the region, commission chairwoman Jennifer Wang (王儷玲) said.
Allen Hung (洪水樹), chairman of Catcher Technology Co (可成科技), a supplier of metal casings for Apple Inc’s mobile devices, yesterday said that the nation’s income tax rate for people in the highest income bracket — which currently stands at 45 percent — is too high.
The rate could climb to more than 50 percent if dividends and other levies are factored in, making Taiwan like a social welfare state, Hung said.
Incoming minister without portfolio Lin Wan-i (林萬億) suggested raising inheritance and gift taxes by 10 percent to fund long-term healthcare as the nation’s population ages rapidly. Lin has further voiced a need to cut pension benefits to make the system sustainable.
Chang advised Sheu to stand firm on policy issues and delegate, with the ministry staffed with plenty of competent and talented public servants.
Chang scrapped capital gains taxes on stock investments after the unpopular levy weakened the markets.
The Banker, an English-language monthly owned by the Financial Times Ltd, last year crowned Chang the best finance minister of the year for pushing tough tax reforms in the name of wealth redistribution.
The new property tax, which goes into practice this year, is often blamed for the nation’s sluggish housing transactions.
Sheu also has to tackle the ministry’s decade-long legal dispute with Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控) over the management right of Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (彰化銀行).
The Taipei District Court last month handed down a ruling in favor of Taishin Financial, but rejected its plea for compensation and a board reshuffle.
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New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last