The Ministry of Finance (MOF) yesterday published a list of individuals and major corporations that owe the government back taxes.
The Sunworld Dynasty Hotel (王朝大酒店) tops the list of corporations with an outstanding tax bill of NT$2.065 billion (US$65.55 million), while late business tycoon Huang Jen-chung (黃任中) and his son, Juang Juo-ku (黃若谷), owe taxes of NT$1.545 billion and NT$1.719 billion, respectively.
The MOF list contained 1,558 major cases worth a total of NT$130.8 billion.
The names of individuals and corporations owing more than NT$10 million and NT$50 million respectively have been posted on the Web sites of five national tax administrations under the MOF, where they will remain for a period of seven days.
This is the first time the ministry has published a list of major tax defaulters, but whether this encourages the payment of outstanding tax bills remains to be seen.
The Control Yuan, the nation’s highest watchdog, has criticized the government for inadequate attempts to retrieve outstanding taxes, saying that only 4.06 percent of outstanding tax debts were paid between 2001 and October last year.
Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) of the ruling Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said that outstanding taxes had increased to NT$313.8 billion as of the end of last year, representing 4.14 percent of actual tax revenues.
In late March the Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee passed a motion demanding the MOF instruct tax administrations to regularly publish lists of individuals and corporations who owe more than NT$10 million and NT$50 million.
The MOF said that the figure of 4.14 percent of unpaid taxes is not particularly large by international standards, adding that the level is around 7 percent in the US, between 7 percent and 8 percent in China, 5 percent in Hong Kong and more than 10 percent in Greece.
Most scholars supported the publication of the list.
Norman Yin (殷乃平) of National Chengchi University said it would have an “intimidating effect” and force tax defaulters to repay the money.
National Taiwan University’s Lee Hsien-fong (李顯峰) said that the government should focus on the major transgressors and only publish the names of individuals who owe more than NT$50 million and corporations that owe more than NT$100 million. Lee said this would be more effective in getting people to pay their outstanding taxes, as a list containing too many names would fail to have the desired impact.
Separately, the Taipei Revenue Service said on Friday that it has identified 9,850 households in the city that will be assessed as liable to pay a “luxury house tax,” a move that could increase their housing tax burden by as much as 320 percent.
Service Director Hsieh Sung-fang (謝松芳) said that the “luxury house tax” would be introduced in July next year, once the publicly assessed housing values of “luxury houses” have been adjusted upwards.
The publicly assessed housing value is an estimate of a house’s worth, not including the land, made by a public agency and is used to calculate housing tax. Taiwan does not assess taxes on land or houses based on actual transaction values.
Taipei City is expected to benefit to the tune of an additional NT$800 million in revenue from the increase when it begins collecting the tax in May 2012.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a