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.
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.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS