Demonstrating his concern for the nation's high-tech sector, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday told the country's largest industrial association that he opposed recent talk of taxing the industry's employees.
The government should not impose a tax on the stock dividend income of high-tech company employees, Chen said yesterday.
Chen was responding to policy recommendations from the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturing Association (TEEMA, 台灣區電機電子工業同業公會), an industrial association that claims to account for more than 50 percent of the total value of Taiwan's industrial production.
Several heavyweight association board directors representing Taiwan's high-tech companies made the visit to the president, including Rock Hsu (許勝雄), chairman of Kinpo Electronics Inc (金寶電子); Kao Yu-jen (高育仁) chairman of Twinhead Computers; (倫飛電腦) and Wu Ming-chiou (吳敏求), president of Macronix International Co Ltd (旺宏電子).
"The president said that the government will not impose taxes on profit-sharing schemes for employees in high-tech companies, as was earlier proposed by the new administration," Wu said.
Wu also touched upon Chen's response to the concerns of high-tech entrepreneurs.
"He pointed out that it is not a set government policy to impose national security taxes on Taiwanese businessmen in China, as was earlier proposed by one government official," Wu said.
Another key concern for high-tech industries has been the recent passage by the legislature of a law reducing the workweek from the current 48 hours per week to 84 hours every fortnight. According to TEEMA estimates, the adjustment will cost local companies an extra NT$170 billion annually.
In addition, TEEMA members also requested the government's assistance in dealing with what they cited as a severe labor shortage in the high-tech sector.
TEEMA estimated the sector, as a whole, had a labor shortfall of 57,000 people.
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