The Chinese National Federation of Industries yesterday called on the government to revise labor and taxation rules to make Taiwan more business friendly, as the overall operating environment has deteriorated over the past year.
“The nation should spend less time on politicking and assign more importance to economic issues, as the economy has stagnated in the past decade after two administration changes,” federation chairman Rock Hsu (許勝雄) said upon the release of its annual position paper.
The trade group, which consists of 155 member associations and represents a majority of local manufacturing businesses, voiced misgivings over a lack of electricity, water, land, labor and talent supply, as the government has given priority to wealth redistribution and environmental protection, Hsu said.
Photo: CNA
Hsu, also the chairman of notebook computer maker Compal Electronics Co (仁寶), said he is particularly tired of labor rules introduced earlier this year that shortened work hours, and raised overtime and holiday pay without flexibility.
As a result of the new labor rules, many firms have begun keeping tight payrolls and hiring more temporary workers during the high season, he said.
Small businesses close on weekends and holidays to save on labor costs, he added.
The practice denies workers the opportunity to work overtime, even though many would prefer to do so at lower compensation, Hsu said.
“What the industry wants is clear and simple — a labor law that would take seasonality into consideration and provide flexibility for different sectors,” Hsu said.
It is inappropriate and inadequate for the Council of Labor Affairs to seek to resolve the controversy by applying different orders and interpretations to different sectors, he added.
The government should make a bold move and change the law, as it is unpopular and unfavorable for corporate competition, Hsu said.
The trade group also called for a taxation system that would treat residents and foreigners fairly.
Tax rates for stock dividend income are 20 percent for foreign investors, but range from 5 percent to 45 percent for Taiwanese, giving them motivation to try to evade taxation, Hsu said.
The Ministry of Finance has been contemplating tax revisions, but has been unable to come up with a bill, reportedly over fears that a tax cut might be read as sympathizing with rich people.
The federation said the government needs to demonstrate prowess if it is serious about restructuring the economy.
Policymakers should set the GDP growth target at 3 percent and mobilize all government agencies and resources toward achieving that goal, the federation said, adding that the government lacks competence, society lacks order, the nation needs direction, the legislature must be dutiful and the young generation is short on hope.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)