Led by the Alliance for Fair Tax Reform (AFTR), thousands of people took to the streets yesterday to show their opposition to government tax cuts, which they believe only benefit the rich.
“We had a cut in the securities exchange transaction tax earlier this year, and now the big corporations are pushing for a cut in the inheritance tax and an extension of the Statute for Upgrading Industries [促進產業升級條例],” AFTR spokesman Chien Hsi-chieh told the demonstrators at Liberty Square before the march began.
The statute, first adopted in 1990, was designed to boost the economy by giving favorable treatment such as tax breaks to selected industries or businesses choosing to invest in selected areas.
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FENG, TAIPEI TIMES
As the statute is supposed to expire next year, business lobbyist groups are pushing for its extension.
“Business leaders always tell us that tax breaks would help them prosper, and in turn, they would be paying more tax,” Chien said. “Decades have passed since we first had tax breaks favoring the corporations and we’ve yet to see any increase in tax revenue.”
“No tax breaks for the rich” and “we want a fair tax reform,” the crowd shouted as they marched through Taipei streets.
Confederation of Taipei Trade Unions executive director Chou Chia-chun (周佳君) agreed.
“According to figures released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs [in 2005], eight of the top 40 richest people in Taiwan did not pay a cent in taxes — while we the ordinary wage-earners are shouldering more than 70 percent of the tax burden,” Chou said.
“The government should collect more tax from the rich and lift a little bit of the tax burden off the laborers,” she said.
Garden of Hope Foundation executive director Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容) voiced concern that unfair tax cuts would only widen the gap between the rich and the poor.
“As a result, more people will need to depend on the social welfare system, but I don’t know where the government will get the money as it’s already deep in debt after all the tax cuts,” Chi said.
The parade stopped as it passed by the Legislative Yuan and released a list of 13 lawmakers across party lines who strongly support what they consider “unfair tax reform” plans.
The legislators on the list included: Chen Chieh (陳杰), Lin Te-fu (林德福), Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛), Hsueh Ling (薛凌), Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅), Wang Sing-nan (王幸男), Chen Ken-te (陳根德), Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾), Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆), Chang Chia-chun (張嘉郡), Sun Ta-chien (孫大千), Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) and Ting Shou-chung (丁守中).
Youth Labor Union 95 spokesman Chen Poh-chien (陳柏謙) urged voters to boycott the lawmakers on the list in the next legislative election.
The demonstrators marched peacefully to Ketagalan Blvd in front of the Presidential Office, where alliance convener Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋) called on President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to oppose unfair tax reforms and remove Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德).
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
RSS