The National Teachers’ Association said yesterday that it did not oppose levying income taxes on primary and secondary school teachers but that the government should offer compensation to relieve teachers of the additional financial burden.
Yeh Ching-rong (葉慶龍), an association convener who specializes in tax issues, said that reimposing the tax levy on teachers and military personnel would add to their already heavy financial burden as inflation soars.
The Ministry of Finance’s tax reform committee should therefore consider whether imposing taxes on the income of teachers and military personnel is appropriate, Yeh said.
He said the tax-exempt status for school teachers was an important incentive to attract people to the teaching profession and should not be seen as a wrong measure.
“We demand a series of reasonable complementary measures if reimposing the income tax is unavoidable,” Yeh said.
In 2002, the association successfully boycotted a plan to tax teachers, urging the then-Democratic Progressive Party government to carry out complementary measures before levying the tax.
Income taxes for primary school teachers have been suspended since 1955, while secondary school teachers have been exempted from taxes since 1979.
To ease the burden on teachers, Yeh said the association would agree to pay taxes if the Ministry of Education cut teachers’ workload by two classes a week, raised administrative and counseling fees and set up a teachers’ fund.
Lee said it was up to the ministry to determine whether the demands are reasonable.
“The monthly subsidies for homeroom teaching should also be raised by NT$2,000,” he said.
Yeh said teachers would also need more assistance to help them with administrative matters.
Additional reporting by Crystal Hsu
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