The centrally funded tax revenues that can be allocated to local governments next year are to rise nearly NT$40 billion (US$1.25 billion) to a record-high NT$381.17 billion, with 65 percent of the revenue going to fund the governments of the six special municipalities, the Ministry of Finance said in its latest report.
After the ministry has collected income, business, excise and land value-added taxes, it would designate a specific percentage of total tax revenues to be allocated to local governments. The distribution of tax revenues among 22 cities and countries is governed by the Regulations for the Allocation of Centrally Funded Tax Revenues (中央統籌分配稅款分配辦法).
Specifically, NT$60.315 billion would be allocated to Taipei, an average of NT$24,060 per resident. New Taipei City would receive NT$46.884 billion, an average of NT$11,622 per resident, a ministry report showed.
Photo: Reuters
They were followed by NT$43.466 billion that is to be appropriated for Kaohsiung, NT$38.707 billion for Taichung, NT$30.361 billion for Taoyuan and NT$28.055 billion for Tainan. The average revenue per resident is NT$15,877, NT$13,630, NT$13,144 and NT$ 15,085, respectively.
Although Lienchiang County is only allocated NT$650 million, it amounts to an average of NT$46,050 per resident, the highest in Taiwan due to it only having about 14,000 registered residents.
Penghu County’s population of about 107,000 is ranked second, with the average tax revenue per resident being more than NT$27,421. Taitung and Taipei are ranked third and fourth regarding the average tax revenue per resident, which is NT$25,887 and NT$24,060, respectively.
Residents in Hsinchu County would on average receive a tax revenue of NT$9,491 per person, which is the lowest in the country, preceded by NT$10,593 for a Changhua County resident, NT$11,622 for a New Taipei City resident and NT$11,971 for a Yilan County resident.
The centrally funded tax revenues to be allocated to Taipei would increase by NT$6.23 billion, the largest increase in the country, followed by an increase of NT$4.88 billion to New Taipei City and NT$4.608 billion to Kaohsiung.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the meeting next month, Japanese sources said The holding of a Japan-US leaders’ meeting ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China is positive news for Taiwan, former Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association representative Hiroyasu Izumi said yesterday. After the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in Japan’s House of Representatives election, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit the US next month, where she is to meet with Trump ahead of the US president’s planned visit to China from March 31 to April 2 for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan