The number of people who reported a same-sex spouse on their income tax increased 1.5-fold from 2020 to 2023, while the overall proportion of taxpayers reporting a spouse decreased by 4.4 percent from 2014 to 2023, Ministry of Finance data showed yesterday.
The number of people reporting a spouse on their income tax trended upward from 2014 to 2019, the Department of Statistics said.
However, the number decreased in 2020 and 2021, likely due to a drop in marriages during the COVID-19 pandemic and the income of some households falling below the taxable threshold, it said.
Photo: CNA
The number of spousal tax filings rebounded to about 2.98 million in 2023, accounting for 43.3 percent of all tax filings, down from 47.7 percent in 2014, the data showed.
This reflects the trend of people marrying later in life or remaining single, the department said.
The proportion of married people who filed as “separated” was less than 0.25 percent from 2014 to 2022, but rose to 0.36 percent in 2023, it said.
The highest proportions of “separated” filings were in Keelung, Taipei and New Taipei City with 0.53, 0.5 and 0.47 percent respectively, it said.
Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage on May 24, 2019, and the law was amended in 2023 to allow Taiwanese to marry a same-sex foreign spouse of any nationality, apart from Chinese, the department said.
Last year, the law was amended again to allow Taiwanese to register a marriage with a same-sex Chinese spouse, provided they first marry in a third country that recognizes same-sex marriage.
There were 2,625 people who reported having a same-sex spouse on their taxes in 2020, the year after same-sex marriage was legalized, the department said, adding that the number rose to 6,637 in 2023.
The proportion of married people reporting a same-sex spouse has risen from 0.09 to 0.22 percent, it added.
Hualien County had the highest proportion of same-sex spouses at 0.41 percent, followed by Taitung County at 0.35 percent, while the lowest proportions were in Changhua and Yunlin counties, both 0.09 percent, the department said.
Among the six special municipalities, the proportion ranged from 0.2 to 0.26 percent, it added.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS