Civic groups and academics yesterday called on the government to include taxation of pre-sale homes and buildings on agricultural land in a proposed luxury tax bill to keep speculators from exploiting legal loopholes.
Representatives from the Taiwan Labor Front, Consumers’ Foundation, Alliance for Fair Tax Reform and other groups yesterday held a joint press conference to call for a bill that would be effective in tightening the reins on the real-estate market among widespread rumors that developers have been privately lobbying to block it or minimize its effects.
Consumers’ Foundation house committee convener Lin Wan-ken (林旺根) said if the levy did not include short-term transactions on pre-sale homes and agricultural-use buildings, then the bill would be ineffective in preventing speculators and investors from taking advantage of loopholes and would ultimately lead to a continued rise in housing prices.
Mansions and luxury homes that take advantage of loopholes by qualifying as farmhouses should be included in the tax because developers have been known to use the loophole for tax purposes, he said.
The groups also called for extending the definition of “short term” to mean transactions that take place within three years, rather than the currently proposed two years.
“Investors who have deep pockets can still ride it [two years] out,” said Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), convener of the Alliance for Fair Tax Reform, adding that as it currently stands, the bill is not enough to rein in housing prices.
Taiwan Labor Front -secretary-general Son Yu-lian (孫友聯) said civic groups planned to keep watch on the legislature’s review of the luxury tax bill and publicize those legislators who attempt to block it or exempt certain groups from the levy.
“We ask that the legislature be speedy and strict when reviewing the [luxury tax] bill,” Son said.
“We will let the public see for themselves exactly which legislators are the accomplices to soaring property prices,” he said. “When the legislative elections come, we will use our votes to punish [legislators who block the bill].”
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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