ECONOMY
New tax to take effect June 1
The Ministry of Finance announced yesterday that the Selective Goods and Services Sales Tax Act (特種貨物及勞務稅條例), which imposes a tax on luxury purchases and short-term housing transactions in Taiwan, will take effect on June 1. The act, which passed the legislative floor on April 15, was approved by the Legislative Yuan on Thursday, the ministry said. Under the new act, a 15 percent tax will be imposed on non-self-use homes sold within one year of purchase, while a 10 percent tax will be slapped on properties sold in the second year after purchase. Certain luxury goods and services will also face a 10 percent levy. Taxable items include cars, yachts, airplanes, helicopters and ultra-light planes that cost more than NT$3 million (US$104,200). In addition, tortoise shells, coral, ivory and furniture items costing more than NT$500,000 will also be taxed at 10 percent. Government officials have said that revenues collected from the tax would be allocated to social welfare programs.
TOURISM
Japanese officials thank CAL
The Japanese government yesterday thanked China Airlines (CAL), Taiwan’s leading carrier, for its relief efforts and endeavors to promote tourism to Japan in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. A certificate of appreciation was presented to CAL officials by Hiroshi Mizohata, commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Mizohata said that visitor numbers to Japan have dropped significantly since the quake, but said that CAL has taken the lead in sending tourism personnel to the stricken country to help speed the recovery of Japan’s tourism industry. The carrier has transported relief provisions free of charge to the disaster areas and has also made every effort to continue its air services to Japan in the wake of the quake, airline officials said. CAL employees have also raised about NT$8 million (US$278,000) for quake relief.
BUSINESS
Local cosmetics sell in China
At the China Beauty Expo that opened in Shanghai on Wednesday, cosmetics buyers said Taiwanese products were more attractive than other foreign brands because of their quality and the fact they are designed exclusively for Asians. A Chinese buyer surnamed Wang (王) said he was also impressed by Taiwanese companies’ frequent use of brand spokespeople in their sales campaigns. For example, a Taiwan-made tooth powder attracted much attention at the expo because Taiwanese star Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛, aka Big S) recommended it in her book, he said.
ART
NTNU holds paper art show
A paper art exhibition opened yesterday at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei. Although paper is widely used in everyday life, not many people appreciate it as an artistic medium, according to Ziv Shu of National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), the organizer of the International Paper Art Exhibition and Symposium, which runs until June 14. NTNU invited 87 artists from home and abroad to attend the symposium and brainstorm on ways to highlight the artistic properties of paper and increase public awareness of paper art. Participating artists have come from all over the world, including China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, the US, France, Israel, Italy and Mexico.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods