The government is considering changes to the rules of the so-called “luxury tax” following two years of the levy, Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和) said last week.
“Current rules have flaws, for example, we are unable to tax those deep-pocket investors, who can wait for more than two years to sell properties,” Chang said in a briefing on Friday.
In addition, the current tax rules do not apply to land located on non-urban zoning areas and those reserved for industrial use, leaving room for speculators and developers to manipulate prices, Chang said.
Changes may also include a levy on buyers of properties, he added.
The special sales tax on selected goods and services was imposed on June 1, 2011, in a bid to curb speculative property transactions and soaring property prices in major metropolitan areas.
The government imposed a 15 percent tax on properties resold within one year of purchase and a 10 percent tax on those resold within two years of purchase. A 10 percent tax also applies on sales of luxury goods such as yachts and airplanes worth at least NT$3 million (US$100,300), and furs and furniture valued at NT$500,000 or more.
The changes in taxation will focus on real estate rather than other luxury items, Chang said.
The government in May lowered its official forecast for GDP growth this year to 2.4 percent from 3.59 percent amid weakening global recovery, which would affect the nation’s exports and cause pressure on private consumption.
Chang attributed the weakening private consumption partially to people’s relatively large investment in real estate, leading to less spending elsewhere.
The Ministry of Finance will discuss with the industry and experts next month before drawing a blueprint for the luxury tax, he said.
On July 17, Taxation Agency Deputy Director-General Hsu Tzu-mei (許慈美) said the ministry is scheduled to release its review of the tax by the end of this month. The ministry will host a public hearing next month before moving to revise the tax, she said.
The government may seek approval in the Legislative Yuan’s next session starting September, according to Chang.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
RSS