Activists from the Housing Movement (巢運) yesterday urged the Ministry of Finance to follow through on its promise to initiate reforms to property taxation by next month, threatening to launch further protests if the government failed to meet their demands.
Although the ministry has said it plans to submit a legislative draft on taxation reforms to address Taipei’s skyrocketing property values, housing activists said the government’s resolve has faltered following recent objections from real-estate developers and “pro-developer” legislators.
Currently, the nation’s property taxes are based on land-value assessments conducted by local governments, which typically amount to less than half of a transaction’s actual price. The system is said to encourage opportunistic investment.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
“It seems that the government’s resolve to pursue reform is showing signs of retreat,” Housing Movement spokesperson Peng Yang-kai (彭揚凱) said, adding that he disagreed with Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford’s (張盛和) stance of seeking “consensus” before determining the extent of the reforms.
Peng also blasted recent remarks made by lawmakers at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee, saying that many officials opposed the reforms because of their connections with real-estate developers.
“Our legislators should take the views of the people seriously, instead of acting as the mouthpieces for business conglomerates,” Peng said.
As the next legislative elections are just over a year away, the Housing Movement intends to publish a list of legislators that oppose reform to property taxation, he added.
The activists warned that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) might suffer an even greater defeat if it does not address policies that are said to encourage “real-estate crony capitalism.”
In October, a reported 15,000 people participated in a “sleepout” organized by the Housing Movement, in which the protesters camped out overnight on Renai Road in Taipei to protest unaffordable housing.
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