The government is considering giving a five-year tax break for companies operating in the Farglory Free Trade Zone as an incentive to encourage more businesses to make use of Taiwan's first free-trade air cargo zone.
"We are considering extending the application of the Statute for Upgrading Industries (促進產業升級條例) to companies operating in the zone and offering five years of zero income tax," Hu Sheng-cheng (胡勝正), chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development, said yesterday.
Hu made the remark while accompanying a group of China-bound Taiwanese businesspeople on a tour of the zone yesterday.
One concern of companies that intend to operate in the zone is the comparatively high income tax -- 25 percent -- stipulated in the Statute Governing the Establishment and Management of Free Trade Ports (
The Farglory Free Trade Zone, located near Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport was originally touted as the world's largest free-trade air cargo zone. The zone was inaugurated at the end of last year, but business has not been as good as expected.
At present, approximately 50 companies have signed contracts to operate in the zone, and progress is rather slow, said Kevin Tung (
Besides income tax, the statute stipulates that Aboriginal laborers must account for 5 percent of the staff hired by a company, but employers have found it difficult to meet this quota.
Farglory has been communicating with the government to remove the stipulation since the statute was first passed in 2003, but with no result. Most companies in the zone try to keep their staff numbers below 20 to get around the regulation.
To resolve the issue, Vice Premier Tsai Ing-wen (
If the problem can be solved soon, Tung said he is confident that more companies will move into the zone before the end of the year. Many China-bound Taiwanese companies have shown interested in making use of the free trade zone, saying the business environment is degenerating in China, Tung said.
Companies operating in the zone are exempt from tariffs, commodity taxes, tobacco and alcohol taxes and port service fees.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
RSS