The Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (CNAIC, 工商協進會) yesterday called on all presidential candidates to make Taiwan more business friendly, saying the government’s 2.72 percent projected GDP growth for next year lags behind the 3 percent global average.
“All political camps should assign more importance to the opinions of business groups if they are serious about urging firms to move back to Taiwan,” CNAIC chairman Lin Por-fong (林伯豐) said after the group’s monthly gathering in Taipei.
Lin, who is chairman of Taiwan Glass Industry Corp (台玻), said that policymakers should try harder to help different sectors grapple with a US-China trade dispute, the continued uncertainty from Brexit and other challenges.
The government should grant tax credits for 5G and smart intelligence investments through 2029 and extend favorable tax terms for capital repatriations from two years to five, Lin said, adding that the government should also revisit labor rules, and allow more flexibility on working hours and overtime regulations.
It is better to raise the cap on the number of foreign workers and implement different basic wage standards for domestic and foreign workers, he said.
The government should hold a second referendum on the use of nuclear power to ensure stable and affordable electricity supply, while promoting alternative energy sources, CNAIC said.
In addition, tax authorities should consider lowering tax rates on companies’ retained earnings and close the gap in capital gain taxes between foreign and local investors, Lin said, adding that Taiwan’s tax burdens are heavier than those of Hong Kong and Singapore.
The association said it expects the government to pursue membership in regional trade blocs and secure trade agreement with foreign countries.
It has invited major presidential candidates talk about their industrial policy before the election, Lin said.
Taiwan’s exports soared 56 percent year-on-year to an all-time high of US$64.05 billion last month, propelled by surging global demand for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing and cloud service infrastructure, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) called the figure an unexpected upside surprise, citing a wave of technology orders from overseas customers alongside the usual year-end shopping season for technology products. Growth is likely to remain strong this month, she said, projecting a 40 percent to 45 percent expansion on an annual basis. The outperformance could prompt the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and
The demise of the coal industry left the US’ Appalachian region in tatters, with lost jobs, spoiled water and countless kilometers of abandoned underground mines. Now entrepreneurs are eyeing the rural region with ambitious visions to rebuild its economy by converting old mines into solar power systems and data centers that could help fuel the increasing power demands of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. One such project is underway by a non-profit team calling itself Energy DELTA (Discovery, Education, Learning and Technology Accelerator) Lab, which is looking to develop energy sources on about 26,305 hectares of old coal land in
Netflix on Friday faced fierce criticism over its blockbuster deal to acquire Warner Bros Discovery. The streaming giant is already viewed as a pariah in some Hollywood circles, largely due to its reluctance to release content in theaters and its disruption of traditional industry practices. As Netflix emerged as the likely winning bidder for Warner Bros — the studio behind Casablanca, the Harry Potter movies and Friends — Hollywood’s elite launched an aggressive campaign against the acquisition. Titanic director James Cameron called the buyout a “disaster,” while a group of prominent producers are lobbying US Congress to oppose the deal,
Two Chinese chipmakers are attracting strong retail investor demand, buoyed by industry peer Moore Threads Technology Co’s (摩爾線程) stellar debut. The retail portion of MetaX Integrated Circuits (Shanghai) Co’s (上海沐曦) upcoming initial public offering (IPO) was 2,986 times oversubscribed on Friday, according to a filing. Meanwhile, Beijing Onmicro Electronics Co (北京昂瑞微), which makes radio frequency chips, was 2,899 times oversubscribed on Friday, its filing showed. The bids coincided with Moore Threads’ trading debut, which surged 425 percent on Friday after raising 8 billion yuan (US$1.13 billion) on bets that the company could emerge as a viable local competitor to Nvidia
RSS