Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday handed down its final verdict in the battle between Taipei City Government and the National Tax Administration.
The city government lost its appeal and the court ruled that it must pay interest to the administration for not paying back the National Health Insurance premiums it owed.
Taipei City Government has over a number of years accumulated a total of NT$29 billion (US$885 million) in debt on grants for National Health Insurance (NHI) premiums and was fined more than NT$74 million in interest by the administration for not paying back the grants.
The administration fined the city government based on regulations stipulated in Sections 1, 3 and 5 of Article 27 of the National Health Insurance Act (全民健康保險法) when on Dec. 31, 2005, the city government exceeded the grace period for paying a certain portion of the interest it owed, which amounted to more than NT$74 million.
Following the fine, Taipei City Government lodged an administrative complaint that was later rejected. The city government then filed administrative litigation with the Taipei High Administrative Court.
The city government believed that the grants should be calculated based on the number of employees that have their household residence registered in Taipei City, saying it is not in accord with the principle of equity to calculate grants based on the number of employees employed by companies that have their business registrations in the city.
However, the court said that according to the act, it was legal and reasonable for the administration to calculate the grants according to the number of employees employed by companies that have their business registrations in Taipei City and therefore rejected the appeal.
The city government appealed again, but the court upheld its decision on Thursday.
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