Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德), who emerged from the Cabinet reshuffle unscathed, pledged yesterday to press on with the task of reining in government debt and overhauling the taxation system, an effort that has left the state coffers strapped for cash.
A veteran tax official, Lee said the ministry under his stewardship remains committed to more equitable distribution of the nation’s wealth and efficient management of public properties.
“The ministry will press on with financial stabilizing and tax reform plans but will adjust the pace and magnitude a bit following the Cabinet reshuffle,” Lee said by telephone.
The 58-year-old, who earned a bachelor’s degree in banking and insurance and a master’s degree in business administration, joined the finance ministry in 1980 where he stayed for 18 years.
Hardworking, moderate and pragmatic, he was tapped in 1998 by then-Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to steer the capital’s finance department. Dubbed “Ma’s man,” he was appointed to the helm of the finance ministry in May last year and survived the recent Cabinet reshuffle.
Lee cut inheritance and income taxes for individuals and companies to fulfill Ma’s campaign promise to improve trade ties with China and facilitate capital return. Meanwhile, he expanded government debt by NT$220 billion (US$6.72 billion) to fund stimulus measures.
“The tax cuts may prove favorable to the national chest after the economy picks up and private demand grows again,” Lee said.
Norman Yin (殷乃平), a money and banking professor at National Chengchih University, warned the ministry to avoid waste and to deal with widening income gaps otherwise the issues will come back to haunt the administration.
“It is time the finance ministry has come up with long-term solutions to rising government debt, which is approaching the legal ceiling,” Yin said. “The fact that the debt accumulated over a long time is no excuse for further delay.”
Yin urged the ministry to stand firm and revamp the taxation system after several academics quit the Cabinet’s tax reform panel in protest at a perceived pro-business bias.
Lee said he would push for energy and environment taxes at less drastic rates even though the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the business community have opposed this saying green tax reform is part of a financial stabilizing plan that may generate income or save expenditure of up to NT$1 trillion over eight years.
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