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Ma, Siew slam Cabinet's tax reform package

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his running mate Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) yesterday criticized the Cabinet's tax reform package, saying it failed to take care of low-income families. Ma also challenged the government's motives for pushing the cuts just before the presidential election.

"I don't think it's appropriate for the government to propose tax cuts before the election. The government should focus its current efforts on reviving the economy," Ma said yesterday in Taipei.

The Cabinet approved a tax reform package on Wednesday aimed at lowering business and income tax rates starting from January 2010.

If approved by the legislature, the new tax plan would cut the corporate income tax rate from 25 percent to 17.5 percent and eliminate the 10 percent surtax on undistributed surplus earnings, while significantly reducing the income tax burden of waged and salaried workers as well as disadvantaged groups.

Siew said he supported tax cuts, but accused the government of seeking to solicit votes with its reform package.

Siew criticized the package for not taking account of the poor and because it would not be implemented for two years.

Ma and Siew presented their economic policies earlier this month, proposing a tax relief plan that would include tax refunds for low-income families.

Ma promised to include a budget of NT$25 billion (US$700 million) each year for tax refunds to families whose annual income was under NT$480,000.

Families with annual incomes of NT$360,000 or less do not pay tax. Such families would also receive a subsidy that equaled 13 percent of their annual income, or up to NT$46,800 per year, under Ma's proposal.

The government's plan, on the other hand, would utilize NT$150 billion in taxes that are payable by the high-tech sector until the Statute for Upgrading Industries expires.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday said Ma was opposed to the government's tax reform plan for campaigning purposes.

Hsieh said that as US green card holders are exempt from paying taxes, he believed that Ma should have supported the Cabinet's proposal.

Hsieh has accused Ma of holding a green card since 1977, while Ma has said his green card was invalidated in 1985.

Hsieh made the remarks in Chiayi County yesterday.

Hsieh said it baffled him why Ma, who has urged the administration to step up efforts to cut taxes and open up cross-strait economic policy, would question the timing of the plan.

"It seems no matter what we do, he has something to complain about," Hsieh said. "No wonder so many people want to commit suicide, because it is not easy to please everyone."

Hsieh's camp yesterday also criticized Ma for questioning the timing of the government's measure, urging him to explain whether he is in favor of the plan.

Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), a Hsieh camp spokesperson, said that she did not know when would be a good time to propose the plan because there are elections almost every year.

"I would like to know whether the government should stop proposing reform packages during election years," she said. "I am also curious to know whether Ma opposes government policy that serves the interest of the public because he thought he would score some political points for his election."

KMT caucus whip Kuo Su-chun (郭素春) said the Cabinet proposed tax reductions prior to the presidential election to "deceive" voters to support the DPP in next month's poll.

Additional reporting by Flora Wang
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