Legislature's last day a quiet one

While failing to pass a proposed amendment to the Offshore Islands Development Law (離島建設條例) to legalize casinos, the legislature, in its last session as a 225-member body, passed an amendment yesterday to allow the setting up of tax-free shops on outlying islands.

Under the amendment, shop owners in Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu counties will be able to sell tax-free products after getting approval from customs officials and local governments, and visitors will be able to bring specified amounts of tax-free products with them.

Shops that fail to register their duty-free status with their local governments or follow the regulations could be fined between NT$6,000 and NT$30,000 and lose their business licenses for up to a year.

Lawmakers also approved a free-trade agreement (FTA) with El Salvador and Honduras that was signed in May. After the FTA comes into force, 3,590 Taiwanese products will receive tariff-free treatment in El Salvador and 3,881 will receive the same in Honduras. In return, Taiwan will lift tariffs on 5,688 Salvadoran products and 6,135 Honduran products.

El Salvador will reduce taxes on 439 Taiwanese agricultural products and 3,151 industrial products, and Honduras will reduce taxes on 430 agricultural products and 3,451 industrial products from Taiwan.

The Cabinet's NT$44.5 billion (US$130 million) budget for a second-stage flood prevention plan, scheduled to start in the next fiscal year and end in fiscal 2010, also passed.

The budget, which includes NT$3.5 billion for the establishment of rainwater drainage systems in flood-prone areas and NT$40.9 billion for the improvement of river and regional drainage systems in these areas, will be given to government agencies under debt instruments.

The legislature also passed an amendment to the regulations of the Social Assistance Act (社會救助法) to lower the qualifications to be considered a "low-income family," which will allow about 45,000 additional people to apply for social subsidies.

Amendments to the Status Governing Urban Renewal (都市更新條例) were passed that will simplify the application process for urban renewal projects in a bid to stimulate the housing market and the economy.

The Act Governing the Establishment of a Cultural Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (原住民族文化事業基金會設置條例) was passed, which will allow the foundation to promote Aboriginal culture by running Aboriginal media outlets. The law bars political parties from intervening with the management of the outlets.

The legislature also passed an amendment to the Petroleum Management Law (石油管理法), to lower the total safety reserve of imported oil that individual oil import firms must hold from 50,000 kiloliters to 10,000 kiloliters.

The amendment, which was submitted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, will lower the threshold for new companies interested in joining the oil import trade, thereby undercutting the duopoly enjoyed by CPC Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化), political observers said.

The amendment stipulates that in an emergency situation, the ministry could restrict the export of petroleum and other oil products by private companies.

Lawmakers failed to pass proposed amendments to the Labor Insurance Law (勞工保險條例), drawing a complaint from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), who had proposed the amendments.