Uber Technologies Inc and authorities have still failed to agree upon the definition of the firm’s type of business, one day after the company announced it was suspending its ride-hailing service in Taiwan from Friday next week.
“We’re not a taxi company so it is absurd to ask us to register as one,” the San Francisco-based company’s subsidiary said in a statement yesterday.
The remarks followed a news release from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications reiterating its requests for Uber Taiwan to register as a transportation firm, not an Internet technology company, and for it to meet the same responsibilities as other transportation operators in terms of tax and insurance coverage.
Uber connects people wishing to share their vehicle with people in need, it said in its statement, adding that its service has been embraced in more than 72 countries because it provides a service that taxies do not.
Uber Taiwan said it has repeatedly expressed its intention to pay “applicable” tax in Taiwan — even when there were no structures under which it could be taxed, the statement said.
The company would like to abide by a tax for e-commerce once established, it added.
Every ride on the Uber platform worldwide is covered by insurance, noting that in some places it has also secured additional coverage through local insurance providers, but it cannot do so in Taiwan as long as the government deems the ride-sharing service illegal.
Uber Taiwan said in December last year that it was in talks with 10 local insurers, including Fubon Insurance Co (富邦產險), to offer coverage for its drivers.
However, local insurers have thus far failed to offer coverage for the firm’s drivers and passengers in accordance with the Financial Supervisory Commission’s regulations, a commission official said by telephone.
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