There was good news for local governments and bad news for taxpayers on Tuesday as the Legislative Yuan enacted a law authorizing local governments to collect local taxes. This is in essence a tax increase, since local governments will now be able to levy taxes on a wide variety of things, ranging from creating noise pollution and owning pets to tourism and street vendors.
It is no surprise that the taxpayers have not rushed to embrace the new law. However, local governments are not exactly thrilled about it either. They fear the central government is leaving them with the role of the heavy while it gets credit for not raising national taxes.
Governments at every level are short of funds but the central government doesn't dare raise taxes ahead of key elections, including the 2004 presidential poll. It would be political suicide. The central government has tried everything to increase revenues without hiking taxes. The prime example is the thorough and widespread tax audits on income tax filings. Local governments are also looking for ways to increase revenues, as seen by Taipei's sudden enthusiasm for strictly enforcing traffic laws which has resulted in a record number of tickets being issued.
Under the new law, local councils or legislatures will have to approve the collection of new taxes. Given the political volatility of such a move, it is unlikely that many local governments will actually decide to levy new taxes in the foreseeable future. Some local governments had hoped that they would be able to levy taxes on those outside their jurisdiction -- such as the downstream water users of reservoirs -- which would eliminate the risk of a backlash from their own constituents. Unfortunately, the new law specifically bans such taxes. Local governments are prohibited from collecting taxes for trade and natural resources or mineral products outside their borders, as well as cross-district government enterprises.
No wonder Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Hsinchu County Commissioner Cheng Yung-chin (
The new law brings neither money nor gratitude for anyone. So why did the central government even bother to enact it?
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry