Republic Party leaders yesterday outlined the party’s economic policy platform, prescribing a combination of state corporatism, tax cuts and free trade to boost economic growth.
“We want Taiwanese capital to return to Taiwan and ensure foreign capital is willing to invest,” Republic Party Chairperson Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩) said, adding that her party “cared greatly” about reviving economic growth and seeing wages rise.
Republic Party legislative candidate Wu Hsu-chih (吳旭智) said that investment as a portion of government spending has fallen from 25 percent in the 1980s to about 14 percent today, even as spending on social welfare has doubled to 30 percent of the budget.
“The Taiwanese economy faces tremendous difficulties — GDP growth has been crippled, exports have been falling by double-digits over the past two months and we now face a global stock crisis,” Republic Party policy group director Hsu Chien-shu (許千樹) said, outlining a lengthy list of proposals focused on economic and stock market policy.
Regarding economics, the party advocates a range of corporatist policies including government investment to encourage corporate consolidation along supply chains and the establishment of a “one-stop” service to assist firms in select industries gain access to sufficient land and labor.
Hsu also called for the government to invest billions of New Taiwan dollars to promote smart industrial development, expand the existing import-export bank to promote Taiwanese exports and develop and enrich major tourist attractions.
The party also advocates the passage of a controversial service trade agreement with China, along with participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and other regional free-trade agreements.
Hsu Hsin-ying said that the greatest problem with the service trade agreement was a “lack of communication,” adding that she would work harder to promote it, as it has been stuck in limbo since mass student protests last year.
Regarding stocks, the party advocates the elimination of all current capital gains taxes, as well as cutting maximum income tax rates to 40 percent.
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