Mon, May 03, 2021 page3

• Golf venues top taxpayer list in north as claw machines rule central Taiwan

  • By Huang Ching-chun and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNA
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  Most of the entertainment tax in northern Taiwan came from golf venues, while claw machines dominated central Taiwan, the Ministry of Finance said in a report.

  Revenue from golf venues made up 33 percent of the total entertainment tax collected in the north, while revenue from claw machine parlors accounted for nearly 30 percent in central Taiwan, the report said.

  KTV parlors reigned supreme in eastern Taiwan, generating 37 percent of the total entertainment tax revenue there, while Internet cafes, arcades and KTV parlors were the biggest contributors in the south at about 50 percent of the total.

  

  A claw machine parlor is pictured in Nantou County on July 1 last year.

  Photo: Chen Feng-li, Taipei Times

  The number of taxable golf venues, KTV parlors, movie theaters, arcades and Internet cafes fell from 2011 to last year, the report said.

  However, claw machines were the fastest-growing type of entertainment during the period, as the number of taxable establishments shot up from 16,000 in 2011 to 120,000 last year, it said.

  The amount of entertainment tax collected from KTVs, arcades and Internet cafes fell during the period, while tax collected from people in performance-related careers grew, it showed.

  The COVID-19 pandemic has nearly halved the amount of entertainment tax collected nationwide last year, with cinemas, which had until then proven to be relatively stable establishments, also generating lower taxes, the report said.

  Claw machine parlors saw minor gains in taxable income last year, while taxable income at golf venues — where it is easier to practice social distancing — rose to NT$410 million (US$14.67 million), or 24.3 percent of the total entertainment tax revenue, the report showed.

  In related news, a survey by the Taiwan Creative Content Agency on spending trends for cultural content suggested that over-the-top (OTT) media platforms were giving cable TV a run for its money, with only 19.3 percent of respondents watching both platforms.

  About 80.9 percent of respondents under 40 said they preferred OTT services, while 49.1 percent of those over 40 used OTT services, the survey conducted last month found.

  Netflix dominated the OTT market, with 49.1 percent of OTT users in the survey saying they preferred its services, while 14 percent preferred iQiyi, 13.1 percent used YouTube Premium, 7.6 percent watched Line TV, 7.4 percent chose friDay, 6.1 percent used KKTV and 5.1 percent preferred LiTV. The respondents were allowed to choose more than one answer.

  Respondents aged 55 to 69 made up the main TV audience, as 27.8 percent of them said they watched nothing but television.

  As for music streaming services, Taiwanese listened to 1.16 hours of streamed music per day on average, with KKBox remaining the top choice at 53.6 percent and Spotify coming second at 33.4 percent, with YouTube Music in third place at 26.3 percent and Apple Music in fourth place at 19.9, the survey found.

  While those with subscriptions tended to subscribe to more than one service, a majority of respondents preferred subscription-free music, the survey said.
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