People will be able to make donations to athletes and deduct the donations from their taxes if an amendment to the Sports Industry Development Act (運動產業發展條例) passes the Legislative Yuan, the Sports Administration said in a statement yesterday.
The agency issued the statement after the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee on May 17 gave a preliminary approval to the amendment, which is widely seen as an incentive that would motivate people to help athletes struggling to raise money to compete in local or international events.
Article 26 of the act offers tax deductions for business entities that donate to designated sports associations, sports teams and athletes.
It states that the donations made by businesses can be written off as operational costs or expenditures from their revenue tax.
No limits are set on the amount that can be listed as tax deductible.
The same incentive applies if businesses financially support sports events held for their employees, donate to the government for the purpose of building sports facilities or providing sports equipment, or purchase tickets for students or financially disadvantaged people to attend sports events.
However, the regulations do not grant incentives to individuals who make the same kind of donations, which the proposal aims to change by amending Article 26, the agency said.
Individuals would be required to deposit their donations to a designated bank account opened by the Sports Administration.
Donations that are not intended for any specific athlete or sports association would be considered as donations to the government and the entire sum can be listed as deductible, it said.
However, if the individuals specify that the donations are for certain athletes or sports associations, they would then be eligible for listing the donation as tax deductible as per Article 17 in the Income Tax Act (所得稅法).
According to the article, contributions and donations made to educational, cultural, public welfare or charity organizations can be listed as tax deductible provided that the deductible amount does not exceed 20 percent of the person’s gross consolidated income.
People making the donations will not be levied additional gift tax, according to the proposed amendment.
Chang Ru-min (張儒民), a specialist in the agency’s planning division, said that it would have to stipulate various rules of enforcement if the amendment is passed and promulgated by President Tsai Ying-wen (蔡英文).
“The Ministry of Finance has been cautious about this matter and wanted the Sports Administration to act as gatekeeper,” he said, adding that the agency has also been asked to deliberate on the qualifications of the athletes eligible for receiving donations.
Chang said that the Sports Administration would also make evaluations after the amendment is passed regarding the types of athletes who are likely to benefit the most from the tax incentive and the amount of losses in tax revenue that the government would face after the changes.
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