The health and welfare surcharge on tobacco products will be increased from NT$10 per pack to NT$20 per pack starting today.
Chao Kun-yu (趙坤郁), director of the Bureau of Health Promotion said retail stores are allowed to sell off their existing cigarette stocks without asking customers to pay the extra NT$10 surcharge.
The surcharge increase will raise the average per-pack price for cigarettes to between NT$55 and NT$70, depending on the brand.
PHOTO: LIN MING-HUNG, TAIPEI
According to an estimate by Chao, the new measure is expected to boost annual revenues from the health and welfare surcharge from NT$20 billion (US$615 million) to between NT$32 billion and NT$36 billion.
Chao said the DOH would use 4 percent, or NT$1.39 billion, of the revenues from the surcharge as subsidies to help 470,000 people obtain national health insurance. The Bureau of National Health Insurance will receive 70 percent of the surcharge revenues and will spend NT$10 billion to meet its financial shortfall, and the rest in various areas such as cancer prevention, raising the standards of medical services and treatment of rare diseases.
Meanwhile, the “high-season” summer rates policy adopted by the Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) will also take effect starting today.
On average, a typical local family uses around 421 kwh per month during the summer, which translates to an additional NT$102 in electricity bills per month.
According to the state-owned company, the new policy is aimed at encouraging the public to conserve energy during the four months between this month and September.
Under the new rates, households using between 110 kilowatt hours (kwh) and 330kwh per month will be charged at NT$3.02 per kwh (up from NT$2.68 in other seasons). They will be charged NT$4.05 per kwh (up from NT$3.27 in other seasons) if electricity usage is between 331kwh and 500kwh per month.
Those using between 501kwh and 700kwh per month will be charged at NT$4.51 per kwh (up from NT$3.55), while any usage higher than 701kwh per month will be charged by NT$5.1 per kwh (up from NT$3.97).
But consumers that use less than 110kwh per month will still pay NT$2.1 per kwh.
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
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
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
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
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