Chang Chong-hui (張寵慧) last saw her son three decades ago. However, this hasn’t stopped the 58 year-old single mother, who works as a cleaner and can barely read, from being saddled with a bill for his unpaid taxes totaling NT$9.74 million (US$327,000).
Then there is an additional NT$2.5 million fine imposed by the Keelung police for the overdue payment of the balance.
It is unlikely that Chang, who has enlisted the help of borough leaders and a legislator to help fight her cause, could pay the money off even if she wanted to.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“The only reason that I have three meals today is from working hard,” she said. “I can’t read, I can’t even write my own name. What do they want me to do?”
The National Tax Administration wants her to repay the back taxes owed by her son, who was responsible for a trading company before his death in April 2008.
Divorced from her late husband, the courts appointed Chang the liquidator of her son’s remaining debts, despite having officially renounced her claim to any -remaining assets earlier.
National Tax Administration documents show that the agency asked a local court to appoint Chang as liquidator, as allowed under law.
When she later protested after being served the papers, she was told that she would have to appeal the appointment in court.
Government officials contend that the entire process was followed to the letter of the law. As the taxes were owed by a company, Chang’s assets cannot be touched, tax administration official Huang Hui-ying (黃慧英) said.
Huang added that as long as the appeal process was completed and no remaining company assets have been found, Chang’s notification would be canceled.
In the meantime, this single mother is under the continual stress of having to shuttle back and forth between government agencies and the courts, all in attempt to clear her name.
Under current regulations, government agencies also have the authority to prevent Chang from going abroad for up to five years — although a Ministry of Justice official said that they would not resort to such a measure.
Adding insult to injury, a finding last year confirmed that Chang’s son was only a “figurehead” for the company and did not reap any of its benefits, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said speaking in support of the mother.
The “real operators” of the company have already been found, but didn’t even receive a slap on the wrist, Huang said.
“They were only given a suspended sentence and were not even asked to pay back the owed taxes,” the DPP lawmaker said in an account that has been confirmed by tax officials.
Chang’s daughter, who did not wish to be named, added that it was “completely unfair.”
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS