The Pan-Purple Alliance yesterday vowed to mobilize taxpayers to defy tax laws if the government fails to adjust what they called a taxation system that serves the interests of large corporations.
"People have the right to refuse an unfair taxation system if the government continues to allow big companies to pay less taxes than the general public," said Chien Hsi-chieh, convener of the Pan-Purple Alliance and a former Democratic Progressive Party legislator. "We do not rule out the possibility of launching a campaign to encourage the public to adopt a non-violent, uncooperative measure to refuse paying taxes next year."
If this should happen, Chien said the government would be doomed and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) would be forced to step down before his term expires in 2008.
According to Chien, the government's taxation system has many loopholes. He singled out the proposed minimum tax scheme, which has been approved by the Executive Yuan and is awaiting the legislature's review and final approval.
The minimum tax scheme does not tax high-income individuals on their overseas income, which Chien said would encourage the wealthy to transfer their money overseas.
The scheme also does not apply to foreign investment in local stock markets, which Chien said would encourage local buyers to establish paper companies abroad to dodge the taxes.
In addition, the proposed progressive tax rates for the minimum corporate tax scheme -- 7.5 percent, 8.5 percent and 10 percent -- cater to the needs of conglomerates, making them the biggest winners, Chien said.
"What kind of tax reform is this?" Chien asked. "It only shows that the scheme is a hoax and that worse-off taxpayers like you and me are being exploited by the reform scheme, which is manipulated by big corporations and tolerated by the government."
Echoing Chien's opinions, Jason Huang (
Earnings from stock transactions should also be levied to make the taxation system fairer, Huang said.
Gee Keh-shang (葛克昌), a law professor at National Taiwan University, said that there are three kinds of taxpayers in Taiwan: those who do not enjoy any taxation privileges, those who enjoy a certain degree of taxation privileges, and those entitled to total taxation exemptions.
"We are not asking for the taxation system to be perfect, but the government should not create a new category giving big companies more taxation privileges," Gee said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
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