Technology firms said yesterday that the Ministry of Finance's proposed alternative minimum tax (AMT) could create chaos on the stock market and prompt companies to change the way they reward employees if it becomes law.
The first reading of the ministry's draft proposal was passed by the legislature's Finance Committee on Wednesday.
One clause in the draft would require individuals whose annual earnings are more than NT$6 million (US$178,428) to pay taxes on shares they receive as part of their bonuses. The tax would be based on the stock market value of a stock on the second day of issuance instead of its average value.
"We hope that the taxation will be based on rationality and will not affect the development of local technology companies in any way," said David Chen (
He said the association is still waiting to hear from its members on the issue, and more evaluation would be needed if the proposal becomes law.
The measure is expected to affect high-income executives in the technology sector as these companies tend to award employees share bonuses as a way to retain personnel.
Among the hardest hit will be publicly listed firms with high share prices, including Largan Precision Co (
"If it [the bill] passes the third reading, it might affect the way companies reward their staff in the future, as they will think twice about giving share bonuses," said Charles Chiu (邱東泉), Largan's chief financial officer and spokesman.
According to Chiu, the new scheme might prompt some employees to sell their shares as soon as they get them, in a bid to avoid losing money if share prices drop in the future.
"There is a possibility that it [the AMT] could cause a mess in the stock market as employees might rush to sell their shares," he said.
Chiu said the measure would be a burden to both companies and their employees if it becomes law.
The effect on Largan might be comparatively smaller, however, as its bonuses are traditionally divided into 30 percent shares and the remainder in cash.
Largan expects to maintain this ratio in the near term and will consider other options only if the proposal passes its third reading, Chiu said.
Meanwhile, the nation's biggest flat-panel maker, AU Optronics Corp (
If the proposal passes its second and third readings in the legislature and becomes law, it would be the first tax hike in nearly five decades.
If it is passed, the measure would take effect on Jan. 1, so taxpayers would have to take it into account when filing next year's taxes in 2007.
Cairo’s new monorail slices across the city skyline, running above the familiar chaos of blaring horns and aging buses’ exhaust fumes that mark rush hour below. The US$4.5 billion monorail, opened this month, is among Egypt’s most prominent new transport projects, part of a debt-funded infrastructure drive criticized for sapping state finances while bringing limited benefits to most of the country’s 109 million people. “It feels like you’re in a different country,” said Ramy Sayed, a restaurant manager, aboard a driverless Innovia 300 train. “No noise, no traffic, we’re not used to this.” The eastern line runs 56km from the bustling middle-class
Taiwanese firms have increased investment in the Philippines in recent years as Manila’s ties with Washington deepen and global supply chains continue to shift away from China, an expert at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The Philippines had not been among Taiwanese investors’ top choices in Southeast Asia, CIER Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center director Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈) said at a seminar in Taipei. However, Taiwan’s investment in the country has grown significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching US $257 million last year, a high in recent years, she said. Although Taiwan’s total investment in the Philippines still lags
Intel Corp regards Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) as a longstanding partner, as the US chipmaker would continue outsourcing production of advanced chips to TSMC, Intel chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) said yesterday. “I don’t look at people as competitors. I look at the collaboration... Nvidia is also, you know, a good friend,” Tan told a news conference following his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei. “It’s a very trusted partnership for us... We are a big, top customer for them, and we’re going to continue doing that,” he said, referring to TSMC, the world’s largest foundry
Artificial intelligence (AI) agents would supplant smartphones as the center of people’s digital lives, fundamentally reshaping personal devices and driving a major computing upgrade cycle, Qualcomm Inc CEO Cristiano Amon said yesterday. In his keynote speech for this year’s Computex trade show in Taipei, Amon said that the rise of "agentic AI" — AI systems capable of reasoning, planning and carrying out tasks autonomously — would transform how people interact with technology across phones, PCs, vehicles and wearable devices. Describing the technology as the next major evolution in computing, Amon said that "2026 is the year of agents.” For decades, smartphones have sat
RSS