Opposition lawmakers yesterday accused the executive branch of a serious failure to communicate with its own ministers following remarks by Minister of Finance Christina Liu (劉憶如) that she would not have proposed a capital gains tax on securities transactions if she had been aware that the government planned to raise fuel prices and electricity rates.
Liu reportedly made the remarks during a conversation with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Hui-mei (王惠美) on Friday.
However, Liu added that she still thought the levy would help to boost the national coffers and meet the government’s goal of making the taxation system fairer.
Photo: CNA
Liu cited the example of Hon Hai Group (鴻海集團) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘), who paid only NT$3.48 million (US$117,500) in securities transaction taxes in 2010 while making NT$1 billion selling local stocks.
Based on the capital gains tax currently proposed, Gou would have had to pay NT$75 million in tax, Liu reportedly said.
Late on Friday, Liu said she was not aware when she spoke to Wang that one of the other individuals present was a reporter.
Liu’s remarks drew questions from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday on the policymaking process of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, with several saying here was an obvious lack of consultation and discussion between senior officials when formulating policy prior to policy announcements.
Ministers clearly hold personal policy-related talks with Ma outside the framework of government, which is a root cause of the frequent chaos seen at the highest levels, DPP legislators said.
DPP Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安) blamed the government’s internal inconsistencies on Ma’s one-man policymaking and department heads who make their own unilateral decisions.
“The consultation mechanism in the Executive Yuan and the upper echelons of the government appear to be nothing but an empty shell. Either they never read the news, or they are too foggy-minded, leading to the hasty implementation of major policies,” Pan said
A policymaking model under which everyone only answers to Ma while brushing aside the administrative role of the Executive Yuan is the cause of social unrest in the country, Pan said, calling the Cabinet a “scarecrow Cabinet.”
DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) described the Ma administration as a “Hydra-like government” with multiple heads that often disagree over policymaking.
Terry Gou responded to comments on his tax status.
In a statement released on Friday, the Hon Hai group said: “Hon Hai Group and chairman Gou pay taxes according to the law.”
It is improper to use Gou’s case to justify the planned levy of the capital gains tax, the statement added.
Government officials should focus on the matters at hand when they addressed public policies, rather than target specific individuals, it said.
Liu allegedly made the remark in a bid to make the public believe that the proposed capital gains tax was discussed prior to the government’s decisions to raise fuel prices and electricity rates. However, the Cabinet only approved a revised draft of the securities capital gains tax bill on April 26, weeks after its announcements of fuel price increases on April 1 and electricity rate hikes on April 12.
Saying the Executive Yuan always ensures its ministers communicate on major policy issues, Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) yesterday said it could be that Liu was so focused on tackling the capital gain tax issue at the time that she failed to take note of other developments.
Executive Yuan spokesperson Hu Yu-wei (胡幼偉) yesterday admitted there was a discrepancy in the policy timeline outlined by Liu, but added that she believed she was engaged in a private conversation and was seeking to speed up the passage of the proposed bill.
Additional reporting by Su Yung-yao
Translated by Stacy Hsu, Staff Writer
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2