Legislators yesterday passed a preliminary review of an amendment that would cap the maximum annual interest rate at pawnshops at 30 percent, or 2.5 percent per month.
Also at the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee meeting yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) accused a former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator of accepting bribes from people who lobbied against the bill.
Lawmakers agreed that the current cap of 48 percent annual interest is unfair and allows an unreasonable profit margin for pawn businesses, especially during times of economic recession when many families face unemployment or other financial problems and resort to pawning items in order to obtain loans.
However, Deputy Minister of the Interior Chien Tai-lang (簡太郎) also expressed concern that if pawnshop owners could not make enough profit to sustain their business because of strict caps, they might choose to “go underground” instead and operate on the black market, which could lead to more social problems.
If it passes the final review at the legislature, the amendment would affect more than 2,000 pawnshops operating nationwide.
Media reports and rumors have been rife that pawn business owners and lobbyists have used cash bribes and threats in an attempt to delay or block the bill.
At the meeting yesterday, Yeh alleged that a KMT lawmaker accepted seven figure cash bribes in exchange for keeping the maximum annual interest rate at 48 percent. Yeh declined to reveal the identity of the lawmaker, saying only that the case is now being investigated and that the unidentified lawmaker is not currently in office and therefore not part of the Internal Administration Committee.
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