Prepackaged drinks without added sugar are to be exempted from commodity taxes, following amendments passed today by the Legislative Yuan.
The change to the Commodity Tax Act (貨物稅條例) was a bipartisan effort to improve public health by making bottled beverages without added sugar a more appealing choice for consumers.
Article 8 of the act already exempts “pure natural fruit juice, fruit syrup, concentrated fruit syrup, concentrated fruit juice and pure natural vegetable juice” that is in compliance with national standards from commodity taxes.
Photo: CNA
The change also removes the 13 percent commodity tax on color televisions, video recorders, record players and audio recorders.
The reasoning behind the appliances’ removal from the list is that they have become essential consumer goods for many, calling the fairness and legitimacy of levying taxes on them into question.
They also continue to be replaced with new products, leading to a decrease in tax revenue.
The legislature also passed two resolutions related to the new amendments.
The first is that the Ministry of Finance is to prepare a one-year assessment report on tax exemptions for household appliances.
The second is that the ministry is to provide data on commodity and business taxes for imported and domestically produced beverages according to their price as part of efforts to ensure that consumers see the benefits of the new exemptions.
The ministry would also work with consumer protection agencies and other institutions to monitor whether companies have passed on the benefits to consumers.
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