Tax-cut proposals took center stage on the second day of the Economic Development Advisory Conference yesterday, as government, academic and business leaders clashed over how much is too much.
Proposals from the finance panel included suspending the land transaction tax (
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Academics and government officials strongly opposed both proposals due to the nation's growing budget deficit. This year, Taiwan is projected to run a budget deficit equal to 6.3 percent of its GDP, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.
"Although the conference did not accept [the corporate sector's] proposals on tax cuts, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said on Friday that majority opinion would still be considered by the administration. There is still hope [that taxes will be cut]," said Jeffrey Koo (辜濂松), chairman of Chinatrust Commercial Bank (中國信託銀行) and one of the three conveners of the finance panel.
By winning a majority instead of a consensus, the tax-cut measures do not have to be accepted by government agencies as policies. Proposals which are adopted by consensus will be made into policy as soon as possible, the government has pledged.
In a late-breaking news conference, Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-ping (
Reports in the Chinese-language media have said more than 80 legislators have agreed to support the tax-cut measures.
"If the Legislative Yuan is going to propose tax-cut measures, that's up to the discretion of the legislators. The 120 conference members have clearly expressed their opinion already," said Tseng Chu-wei (曾巨威), a professor of public finance at National Chengchi University and another convener of the finance panel.
While the tax-cut proposals failed to win a consensus, 15 other proposals did.
One of the proposals mandates the Executive Yuan with creating a body charged with balancing the government's budget within 10 years. Another charges the Ministry of Finance with bringing its accounting methods in line with international standards within five years.
The Economic Development Advisory Conference is being held in order to win consensus on policy issues relating to Taiwan's economy. The conference comes on the heels of a government report last week which showed the economy contracted by 2.35 percent in the second quarter.
The unemployment rate has also grown with each passing month, to a record 4.92 percent in July.
The conference is scheduled to conclude today.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft