Opposition lawmakers yesterday accused the executive branch of a serious failure to communicate with its own ministers following remarks by Minister of Finance Christina Liu (劉憶如) that she would not have proposed a capital gains tax on securities transactions if she had been aware that the government planned to raise fuel prices and electricity rates.
Liu reportedly made the remarks during a conversation with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Hui-mei (王惠美) on Friday.
However, Liu added that she still thought the levy would help to boost the national coffers and meet the government’s goal of making the taxation system fairer.
Photo: CNA
Liu cited the example of Hon Hai Group (鴻海集團) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘), who paid only NT$3.48 million (US$117,500) in securities transaction taxes in 2010 while making NT$1 billion selling local stocks.
Based on the capital gains tax currently proposed, Gou would have had to pay NT$75 million in tax, Liu reportedly said.
Late on Friday, Liu said she was not aware when she spoke to Wang that one of the other individuals present was a reporter.
Liu’s remarks drew questions from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday on the policymaking process of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, with several saying here was an obvious lack of consultation and discussion between senior officials when formulating policy prior to policy announcements.
Ministers clearly hold personal policy-related talks with Ma outside the framework of government, which is a root cause of the frequent chaos seen at the highest levels, DPP legislators said.
DPP Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安) blamed the government’s internal inconsistencies on Ma’s one-man policymaking and department heads who make their own unilateral decisions.
“The consultation mechanism in the Executive Yuan and the upper echelons of the government appear to be nothing but an empty shell. Either they never read the news, or they are too foggy-minded, leading to the hasty implementation of major policies,” Pan said
A policymaking model under which everyone only answers to Ma while brushing aside the administrative role of the Executive Yuan is the cause of social unrest in the country, Pan said, calling the Cabinet a “scarecrow Cabinet.”
DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) described the Ma administration as a “Hydra-like government” with multiple heads that often disagree over policymaking.
Terry Gou responded to comments on his tax status.
In a statement released on Friday, the Hon Hai group said: “Hon Hai Group and chairman Gou pay taxes according to the law.”
It is improper to use Gou’s case to justify the planned levy of the capital gains tax, the statement added.
Government officials should focus on the matters at hand when they addressed public policies, rather than target specific individuals, it said.
Liu allegedly made the remark in a bid to make the public believe that the proposed capital gains tax was discussed prior to the government’s decisions to raise fuel prices and electricity rates. However, the Cabinet only approved a revised draft of the securities capital gains tax bill on April 26, weeks after its announcements of fuel price increases on April 1 and electricity rate hikes on April 12.
Saying the Executive Yuan always ensures its ministers communicate on major policy issues, Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) yesterday said it could be that Liu was so focused on tackling the capital gain tax issue at the time that she failed to take note of other developments.
Executive Yuan spokesperson Hu Yu-wei (胡幼偉) yesterday admitted there was a discrepancy in the policy timeline outlined by Liu, but added that she believed she was engaged in a private conversation and was seeking to speed up the passage of the proposed bill.
Additional reporting by Su Yung-yao
Translated by Stacy Hsu, Staff Writer
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
The China Coast Guard has seized control of a disputed reef near a major Philippine military outpost in the South China Sea, Beijing’s state media said, adding to longstanding territorial tensions with Manila. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea and has waved away competing assertions from other countries as well as an international ruling that its position has no legal basis. China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested waters, and Manila is taking part in sweeping joint military drills with the US which Beijing has slammed as destabilizing. The Chinese coast guard
RSS