President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday on Facebook defended her administration’s legislative changes to salaries and taxes.
Since taking office in May 2016, her administration has raised the minimum wage three times, Tsai wrote.
The minimum monthly wage was raised from NT$20,008 to NT$21,009, and then to NT$22,000.
Photo: Screen grab from Facebook
In the latest adjustment, which went into effect on Tuesday last week, the minimum wage was increased to NT$23,100, Tsai said, adding that there has been an increase of about 15 percent since she took office.
The “22K” salary is officially a thing of the past, she said, referring to a phrase that has become common to describe the low starting salaries of the nation’s university graduates.
A minimum hourly wage of NT$150 is also the result of three consecutive upward adjustments, she said.
“Taking care of the disadvantaged is one of our most important missions,” Tsai said.
Her post included a graphic touting her administration’s progress in easing the burden on the younger generation.
Tsai’s comments appeared to be a response to criticism that instead of sharing its “profits” with the public, the government should reduce taxes. The “profits” refer to tax revenue that has exceeded the government’s expectations.
In her New Year’s Day address, Tsai said that she had asked the Executive Yuan to propose measures for people with lower incomes to be the first to benefit from the nation’s economic growth.
The Chinese-language Apple Daily reported that the private sectors thinks the government’s surplus tax revenue is the result of last year’s increase in corporate income tax from 17 percent to 20 percent.
Instead of issuing cash handouts, the government should reassess the tax system, the newspaper cited industry sources as saying.
Vice Premier Shih Jun-ji (施俊吉) on Tuesday said that the measures would need to be discussed at length.
The measures would aim to promote economic development, take care of disadvantaged groups and reserve funds for the prevention of African swine fever, he said.
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