Implementation of a one-year tax hike buffer for construction firms is to be put on hold until the Taipei City Council grants its approval, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.
In response to questions, Ko said that allowing the rate exception would require submitting a bill to the city council.
Last week he said that newly completed developments still in the hands of construction firms would be granted a one-year reprieve from housing tax hikes.
A new tax law targeting “hoarded” housing was enacted by the city council last year as part of efforts to combat high real-estate prices. Under the law, tax rates for homes not occupied by their owners have more than doubled this year, with no distinction made between individual and corporate ownership.
Ko yesterday said granting a reprieve to new constructions would be “reasonable,” because new developments take time to sell. Only if the firms fail to sell new developments over an extended period of time should they be viewed as engaging in speculative “hoarding,” he said.
He refused to respond to questions on whether his announcement of the reprieve had been in response to construction lobbying, saying that he had no way of remembering the positions of the many different people he meets every day.
Taipei City Councilor Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday criticized Ko’s proposal, saying the new tax law was meant to impact construction firms, because they were responsible for much of the city’s speculative housing “hoarding.”
As developers presell most housing before construction is completed, it makes little sense to give them an exception to allow them more time to sell, she said.
She also criticized Ko for having announced the reprieve without first seeking approval from the city council.
She said that, because the tax rates are set by city law, any exceptions need to be approved by the city council.
She added that it would be unfair for the Taipei Revenue Service to unilaterally provide an exception to construction firms while refusing exceptions for city residents who have inherited homes or are seeking to purchase homes for their children.
Taipei Revenue Service Deputy Director Hsieh Feng-chu (謝鳳珠) said that, while it was likely impossible for a new tax bill to be drafted and passed before taxes are due next month, there was a possibility that the final bill would allow for a retroactive refund of any additional taxes paid this year.
According to Taipei Revenue Service data, Ko’s proposal to cut rates for newly completed housing developments from 3.6 percent to 2 percent would save construction firms more than NT$161 million (US$5.25 million) this year.
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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