A property tax cut proposed by the Taipei City Government yesterday came under fire from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Council caucus, with city councilors saying that the policy is aimed at benefiting construction companies.
The city government earlier this month proposed a tax cut that would reduce property taxes paid by construction companies from 3.6 percent of the estimated value of a property to 2 percent for each house they are selling.
Under a draft bylaw, the tax rate would apply for one year after a property is put on the market, after which it would be raised back up to 3.6 percent.
Photo: CNA
The 2 percent rate is lower than that for residents holding two properties — 2.4 percent — and much lower than the rate stipulated for people with three or more properties — 3.6 percent.
At a news conference, KMT Taipei City Councilor Chen Chung-wen (陳重文) criticized the policy, saying that it created double standards for construction companies and Taipei residents.
He said that Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) during his election campaign last year repeatedly told Taipei residents that he would endeavor to uphold “residential justice” for young people who cannot afford to purchase a house and the policy belies that pledge.
“The policy panders to building companies, but exploits ordinary residents. Ko should apologize to the young people who voted for him,” Chen said.
KMT Taipei City Councilor Lee Yan-hsiu (李彥秀) said the policy came as a shock to most people given Ko’s campaign promises.
She also said that the tax cut would result in a reduction of about NT$100 million (US$3.04 million) in the city government’s revenue.
“Ko is always trying cut expenses to free up more capital for the city government — for example, canceling the discounts people get when transferring between buses and the MRT, collecting parking fees and canceling subsidies for senior citizens on Double Ninth Day (重陽節) — but by proposing a tax cut for construction companies, I think that he has failed to see the wood for the trees,” Lee said.
The KMT caucus said that it would attempt block the bylaw when it is delivered to the city council for review.
Ko earlier yesterday said the policy was “pragmatic.”
He said that construction companies would be subject to the 2 percent tax rate for one year so that their financial burden could be reduced as they try to sell their stock of houses.
“Under the draft bylaw, the rate would be applied for one year. Some think that is too long. This can be discussed at the council,” Ko said.
He said that the property rates were originally introduced to deter people from stockpiling houses, but that he has discovered that state-run enterprises that want to purchase properties and rent them out to their employees are also required to pay the 3.6 percent tax rate, which he said is unfair.
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
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
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
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique