■TAXES
Statement rules loosened
Foreign taxpayers can now apply for an Individual Income Tax Statement at any tax office in Taiwan, effective immediately, the Ministry of Finance’s Taipei National Tax Administration (TNTA) said on Friday. The TNTA said taxpayers in the past could only apply for the statement — a certificate indicating that taxes have been filed and paid — at the original office where the individual filed his or her taxes. The TNTA said foreign taxpayers should present their ARC or passport to apply for the statement in person. A proxy can also help with the proper documentation.
■ENERGY
Team touts chicken power
A research team recently introduced a thermal electricity generation technology that converts the heat used when frying chicken into “green” electricity. Lee Jinn-shing (李進興), a research fellow at the Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, said the project uses a waste heat energy renewal system to harvest 20 percent of the thermoelectricity generated by cooking oil. The energy can then be used to power lights, radios, electric fans or electronic signage. The system also lowers the temperature around the fryer to about 94°C — compared with oil temperatures of about 380°C — which could be a boon to fried chicken stall operators, who often work for more than 10 hours a day in high temperatures. Mass-produced, the systems would cost NT$10,000 each and could generate a total of NT$200 million (US$6.4 million) in production value, Lin said.
■MILITARY
MND censured over losses
The Control Yuan censured the Ministry of National Defense (MND) earlier this week for its poor efficiency in recouping losses from military school dropouts. Until recently, students at military academies and preparatory schools had their tuition fees paid for them and received stipends for living expenses. Dropouts, however, were expected to repay this money. According to an MND report issued in late 2003, NT$1.1 billion (US$34.38 million) had not been collected from dropouts, according to the watchdog body that monitors the civil service. This figure was NT$1.16 billion at the end of 2008, with 5,136 military dropouts failing to repay their education fees and living stipends, the Control Yuan said. “Investigations show that the annual collection rate ranged between 3.02 percent and 5.36 percent during the five-year period,” the Control Yuan said in its censure. About NT$400 million of the unpaid compensation could never be collected because time limits have expired, the relevant files or documents were lost or for other reasons.
■TOURISM
RDEC hosts English market
Businesses held a “Happy English Market” at the Red House in Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) yesterday, encouraging both customers and vendors to speak English in an effort to make the nation more tourist-friendly, organizers said. The one-day event was aimed at showcasing government efforts to help local businesses attract foreign customers, said Wei Kuo-yen (魏國彥), deputy minister of the Executive Yuan’s Research, Development and Evaluation Commission (RDEC). Thirteen store representatives received awards under the commission’s English Services Emblem Project. Under the project, a team of commission members and foreign advisers visited businesses around Taiwan, rating companies based on the communication abilities of employees and the multilingual accessibility of Web sites, signage and packaging.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it