Fengjia Night Market (逢甲夜市) in Taichung pays the highest amount of business tax among 25 popular night markets in Taiwan, the Taxation Administration said on Saturday.
According to the Ministry of Finance, 602 merchants at the night market provided receipts and the total taxes paid by the market’s vendors amounted to NT$93.45 million (US$3.09 million at the current rate) last year, the highest paid by any night market in Taiwan that year.
Both the number of merchants paying taxes and the amount of tax paid accounted for almost one-third of the respective national totals.
Compared with Fengjia Night Market, the most visited location, Shilin Night Market (士林夜市) in Taipei, only paid NT$13.95 million in taxes, with 165 shops submitting receipts, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, Garden Night Market (花園夜市) in Tainan consisted of 400 vendors, but only one of them issued receipts to customers, indicating serious tax evasion, the ministry added.
Night markets in Taiwan are a must-see attraction for foreign visitors looking for a taste of authentic Taiwanese street food, but most small vendors do not normally provide receipts, meaning they do not pay taxes.
Minister of Finance Sheu Yu-jer (許虞哲) on Monday said at the Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee that it is unreasonable that some big night markets pay substantially less tax than others.
The ministry would continue to encourage vendors and famous merchants at night markets to provide receipts, Sheu said.
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