The Executive Yuan yesterday suffered a setback to a major policy for a second consecutive day when Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators refused to place on the legislative agenda an amendment imposing taxes on income earned from securities.
On behalf of the KMT caucus, KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) proposed delaying review of the amendment at the legislature’s Procedure Committee meeting, which determined items on the agendas of the plenary session for Friday and Tuesday next week.
“I think we have neither the ability nor the willingness [to review the tax bill]; we have been so bogged down on the US beef issue. We do what we can do within our capabilities. We are brave enough to hold off on placing the [tax bill] on the agenda. Let’s leave it to the next session,” Wu said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
On Monday, a government--proposed amendment seeking to conditionally relax a ban on imports of beef containing residue of the feed additive ractopamine was voted down in a preliminary review because KMT Legislator Cheng Ju-fen (鄭汝芬) absented herself from the vote for the sake of “public health.”
Wu, who has been labeled a loyal soldier of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), yesterday said the “KMT caucus will not do whatever the executive branch wants the caucus to do from now on.”
“The caucus will act at our discretion if the executive branch fails to communicate with lawmakers before a major policy is made,” Wu said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康), the rotating chair of the committee, did not put Wu’s motion to a vote, warranting a vote at the plenary session on Friday to decide on the matter.
With one month left before the legislative session enters the summer recess, it appears unlikely that the amendments to the Income Tax Act (所得稅法) and the Income Basic Tax Act (所得基本稅額條例) will clear the legislative floor this session.
“Reinstating a securities tax was not on the Executive Yuan’s list of priority bills for this session. Now, Minister of Finance Christina Liu (劉憶如) can sit down and talk about the policy with lawmakers during the recess period,” Wu said.
KMT caucus whip Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) said it was not necessary to put the issue on the legislative agenda because “it would only disrupt the stock market and unsettle investors.”
“This session is going into recess. We will not be able to review the policy until November,” he said, adding that his caucus did not inform Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) and Liu before it blocked the bills.
The DPP described the development as a constitutional crisis and demanded that Ma, Chen and Liu step down. If Ma does not dismiss Chen after his second inauguration on May 20, the DPP would propose a vote of no-confidence, DPP whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said.
“Chen and Liu should resign to take responsibility for their failed policy and Ma should apologize to the public because his re-election has been the worst disaster that could happen to this country,” Ker said.
From the US beef controversy to the securities tax, it has been clear that Ma’s own party comrades do not support his policies, he said.
The public has paid a high price for Ma’s inconsistent policies and Ma, who pledged tax reform, seems to be “beating up his right hand with his left hand,” Tuan said.
Liu refused to comment about the issue yesterday, while a ministry official said the ministry would communicate with lawmakers before the legislative meeting on Friday, while saying it still hoped lawmakers would add the bill to this legislative session.
Additional reporting by staff writer
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS