Formosa II Wind Power Co (海能風力發電) and its suppliers would pay stamp tax of NT$119 million (US$3.78 million) to the Miaoli County Government as part of a local commitment, the company said yesterday.
The firm, 25 percent owned by Swancor Renewable Energy Co (上緯新能源) and 75 percent by Macquarie Capital Ltd, is in charge of developing the Formosa II wind farm off the county’s coast.
Three major partners would share the tax burden with Formosa II and other local suppliers, it said.
The partners are Fortune Electric Co (華城電機), which is to build an onshore electricity substation and power transmission systems, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA, which is to manufacture turbine units, and Jan De Nul Group, which is to build foundations and undersea cables.
Stamp tax is a one-off tax levied on documents, such as property transactions or construction contracts, and stands at 0.1 percent of the value of a construction contract, according to the Ministry of Finance.
Companies need to pay stamp duty when they sign a contract and they can choose the local government to which the tax will go, except for the property transfer tax, the ministry said.
Formosa II has discussed with its partners whether to sign the contracts in Taiwan, as some countries have lower stamp tax rates, a company official told the Taipei Times by telephone on condition of anonymity.
“As some of our suppliers are foreign companies, it took some time to persuade them to sign the documents in Taiwan and share the tax burden. However, we all agreed that it was a good way to show our commitment to local development,” the official said.
The tax payment would be a record for the county, Miaoli County Commissioner Hsu Yao-chang (徐耀昌) told reporters.
Formosa II has signed more than 60 contracts with local suppliers for their services, including environmental monitoring, energy storage systems, warehousing and crew transfer vessels, Swancor president Robert Tsai (蔡朝陽) said in a statement.
Formosa II would also try to find as many qualified domestic suppliers as possible to help the industry grow, the official said.
The company, which is to build total capacity of 376 megawatts, would finish the onshore substation and power system before the end of this year and begin underwater construction next year, it said.
Meanwhile, Wpd Taiwan Energy Co (達德能源), the developer of another offshore wind farm, which is required to be completed by the end of next year, said it would pay stamp tax of about NT$60 million to the Yunlin County Government in the third quarter of this year, a communications official surnamed Chang (張) said by telephone.
Wpd is to begin marine constructions in the first quarter of next year, she said.
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