Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) yesterday said the government would aim for “tax justice and fairness,” but refused to be pinned down when asked by legislators for details.
When asked by Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Lai Chen-chang (賴振昌) to elaborate on the section on tax reform in his written policy address, Jiang said that tax reform would be based on the principle of “imposing higher taxes on higher-income groups to expand deductions for salaried workers.”
“We hope to use the wealth of the rich to help the poor. Tax justice and fairness are the underlying principles behind the reform proposal,” Jiang said at the opening of the new legislative session.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
In his written report, Jiang mentioned the possibility of adjusting outdated tax provisions, citing as examples business and income taxes — including the integrated income tax system, which he said goes against the international trend — to significantly increase special deductions for salaried workers and people with disabilities.
Lai praised the direction of the government proposal and encouraged Jiang to proceed with his plan to reform the tax system during an election year.
However, Jiang appeared reluctant to reveal details of the reform proposal when he was later asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) whether the Executive Yuan was considering raising or lowering business taxes.
Jiang said he had read the proposal drafted by the Ministry of Finance, which suggested adjusting the business tax for banking institutions.
“I would rather let the Ministry of Finance explain in detail at an appropriate time,” he said.
Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和) told Gao that there was no room to further lower the business tax for banking institutions since it was cut to 2 percent from 5 percent in 1999, implying that the ministry might raise the rate.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊櫻) said Jiang should not consider raising business taxes as this could put the nation’s economic recovery at risk.
Jiang was scheduled to start his policy report at the legislature at 10am yesterday, but it was delayed until 3pm as TSU lawmakers blocked his report in protest against the government’s planned changes to high-school course guidelines.
Jiang delivered his policy address amid sporadic chaos, as several KMT legislators tried to stop three TSU lawmakers from moving closer to the podium to display posters with slogans against the new curriculum guidelines that read “historical distortion, brainwashing the Taiwanese public” among others.
The TSU lawmakers staged the protest after the KMT rejected their demands at a negotiation meeting earlier yesterday that the guidelines should be reversed.
During the question-and-answer session, Jiang was also asked by DPP Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) to consider granting former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who is in prison on corruption charges, medical parole in view of his failing health.
The Taichung Veterans General Hospital released a diagnosis statement on Tuesday recommending that Chen be sent home for care.
Jiang was noncommittal, saying he would instruct the Ministry of Justice to review the case in accordance with related regulations.
Minister of Justice Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪) said that the former president might not receive better care at home in terms of medical equipment for his subsequent treatment.
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
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
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