Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday expressed support for further cuts to the business income tax rate, a comment expected to help garner consensus among lawmakers across party lines to enact the draft on the promotion of innovative industries (產業創新條例).
When approached by reporters yesterday for comment on the draft, Wu said that despite a possible reduction in tax revenue, the cut would enhance the attractiveness of the country to foreign capital, speed up investment and create more jobs, thus increasing eventual tax revenues.
Without giving much detail, Wu cited the slash in estate and gift tax rate from 50 percent to 10 percent as an example of tax cuts working to help the government, saying that it brought more benefits than losses in tax revenue.
While the government initially wanted to keep the rate at 20 percent, the tax cut proposal, presented by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers, suggested cutting the business income tax rate to 17.5 percent. The proposal has since become one of the causes of deadlock over the draft in the legislature.
While Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德) had previously said the DPP caucus’ proposal would result in a loss of NT$40.3 billion (US$1.2 billion) in annual tax revenue, the government has nevertheless indicated a change in its position, with Executive Yuan Secretary-General Lin Join-sane (林中森) proposing the possibility of lowering the rate to 17 percent.
Chinese Nationalist Party Legislative caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said yesterday the party caucus would concretize its position after making a comparison of the costs and benefits of setting the tax rate at 20 percent, 18 percent and 17 percent.
Last year, the business income tax rate was lowered from 25 percent to 20 percent, leading to an approximate loss of NT$80.8 billion in tax revenues.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese