South Korea’s government will exempt corporate taxes for companies selling their assets to pay debt, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said.
The government wants to revise laws so companies can improve their financial status and accelerate corporate restructuring, the ministry said in a statement in Gwacheon.
The ministry plans to finalize the proposals by the end of the month and wants to change the laws next month.
“We will preemptively repair the tax system and tentatively implement the changes for two years so corporate restructuring can be pursued in a timely manner,” the ministry said. “We will strengthen our tax policy support to help the economy.”
Shareholders who sell their holdings to improve the financial status of companies will receive a tax exemption, the government said. Parent companies that sell their insolvent affiliates and assume their debt will also be given breaks.
The government will allow shipping lines to temporarily pay tax based on their earnings until Dec. 31 next year. Shipping lines’ levies are determined by fleet tonnage, which puts them at a disadvantage when the industry is in a downturn.
The ministry reiterated it would exempt overseas investors from paying tax on interest income and capital gains for domestic bond holdings and broaden the range of tax breaks for non-resident Koreans.
The government wants to increase investment from abroad to help ease the shortage of foreign exchange.
Tax breaks for companies making factory investments will be extended to encourage companies to spend more, the ministry said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique