Sun, Sep 26, 2010 page3

• Taiwan News Quick take

  • STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
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  ■TAXES

  Statement rules loosened

  Foreign taxpayers can now apply for an Individual Income Tax Statement at any tax office in Taiwan, effective immediately, the Ministry of Finance’s Taipei National Tax Administration (TNTA) said on Friday. The TNTA said taxpayers in the past could only apply for the statement — a certificate indicating that taxes have been filed and paid — at the original office where the individual filed his or her taxes. The TNTA said foreign taxpayers should present their ARC or passport to apply for the statement in person. A proxy can also help with the proper documentation.

  ■ENERGY

  Team touts chicken power

  A research team recently introduced a thermal electricity generation technology that converts the heat used when frying chicken into “green” electricity. Lee Jinn-shing (李進興), a research fellow at the Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, said the project uses a waste heat energy renewal system to harvest 20 percent of the thermoelectricity generated by cooking oil. The energy can then be used to power lights, radios, electric fans or electronic signage. The system also lowers the temperature around the fryer to about 94°C — compared with oil temperatures of about 380°C — which could be a boon to fried chicken stall operators, who often work for more than 10 hours a day in high temperatures. Mass-produced, the systems would cost NT$10,000 each and could generate a total of NT$200 million (US$6.4 million) in production value, Lin said.

  ■MILITARY

  MND censured over losses

  The Control Yuan censured the Ministry of National Defense (MND) earlier this week for its poor efficiency in recouping losses from military school dropouts. Until recently, students at military academies and preparatory schools had their tuition fees paid for them and received stipends for living expenses. Dropouts, however, were expected to repay this money. According to an MND report issued in late 2003, NT$1.1 billion (US$34.38 million) had not been collected from dropouts, according to the watchdog body that monitors the civil service. This figure was NT$1.16 billion at the end of 2008, with 5,136 military dropouts failing to repay their education fees and living stipends, the Control Yuan said. “Investigations show that the annual collection rate ranged between 3.02 percent and 5.36 percent during the five-year period,” the Control Yuan said in its censure. About NT$400 million of the unpaid compensation could never be collected because time limits have expired, the relevant files or documents were lost or for other reasons.

  ■TOURISM

  RDEC hosts English market

  Businesses held a “Happy English Market” at the Red House in Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) yesterday, encouraging both customers and vendors to speak English in an effort to make the nation more tourist-friendly, organizers said. The one-day event was aimed at showcasing government efforts to help local businesses attract foreign customers, said Wei Kuo-yen (魏國彥), deputy minister of the Executive Yuan’s Research, Development and Evaluation Commission (RDEC). Thirteen store representatives received awards under the commission’s English Services Emblem Project. Under the project, a team of commission members and foreign advisers visited businesses around Taiwan, rating companies based on the communication abilities of employees and the multilingual accessibility of Web sites, signage and packaging.
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