The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee today advanced a bill that would make malt and hops duty-free, aiming to lower production costs and support the long-term viability of the domestic beer industry.
The changes to the Customs Import Tariff (海關進口稅則), which do not require cross-party negotiations, would eliminate the original 7.5 percent tariff on roasted and unroasted malt, as well as on ground or unground hops and hop extracts, originally 15 and 7.5 percent respectively.
Domestic beer producers have struggled to compete with foreign brands, which benefit from lower tax rates and cheaper market prices, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘) and other lawmakers said in their proposal.
Photo: Taipei Times
The legislators said they drafted the amendments to support the long-term survival and development of domestic beer brands.
Lowering tariffs on malt and hops would cause about a NT$74.35 million (US$2.36 million) loss in tariff revenue, the National Treasury Administration said.
However, the tax cut would increase the competitiveness and demand for domestic beer, which is projected to generate an additional NT$169.74 million in tax revenue, the agency said.
After subtracting the loss in tariff revenue, the net fiscal benefit is estimated to be NT$95.39 million, it added.
The Ministry of Agriculture said it would defer to the competent authorities on whether to reduce tariffs on malt and hops, as these crops are primarily imported and not cultivated domestically at a viable scale.
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