Led by the Alliance for Fair Tax Reform (AFTR), thousands of people took to the streets yesterday to show their opposition to government tax cuts, which they believe only benefit the rich.
“We had a cut in the securities exchange transaction tax earlier this year, and now the big corporations are pushing for a cut in the inheritance tax and an extension of the Statute for Upgrading Industries [促進產業升級條例],” AFTR spokesman Chien Hsi-chieh told the demonstrators at Liberty Square before the march began.
The statute, first adopted in 1990, was designed to boost the economy by giving favorable treatment such as tax breaks to selected industries or businesses choosing to invest in selected areas.
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FENG, TAIPEI TIMES
As the statute is supposed to expire next year, business lobbyist groups are pushing for its extension.
“Business leaders always tell us that tax breaks would help them prosper, and in turn, they would be paying more tax,” Chien said. “Decades have passed since we first had tax breaks favoring the corporations and we’ve yet to see any increase in tax revenue.”
“No tax breaks for the rich” and “we want a fair tax reform,” the crowd shouted as they marched through Taipei streets.
Confederation of Taipei Trade Unions executive director Chou Chia-chun (周佳君) agreed.
“According to figures released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs [in 2005], eight of the top 40 richest people in Taiwan did not pay a cent in taxes — while we the ordinary wage-earners are shouldering more than 70 percent of the tax burden,” Chou said.
“The government should collect more tax from the rich and lift a little bit of the tax burden off the laborers,” she said.
Garden of Hope Foundation executive director Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容) voiced concern that unfair tax cuts would only widen the gap between the rich and the poor.
“As a result, more people will need to depend on the social welfare system, but I don’t know where the government will get the money as it’s already deep in debt after all the tax cuts,” Chi said.
The parade stopped as it passed by the Legislative Yuan and released a list of 13 lawmakers across party lines who strongly support what they consider “unfair tax reform” plans.
The legislators on the list included: Chen Chieh (陳杰), Lin Te-fu (林德福), Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛), Hsueh Ling (薛凌), Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅), Wang Sing-nan (王幸男), Chen Ken-te (陳根德), Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾), Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆), Chang Chia-chun (張嘉郡), Sun Ta-chien (孫大千), Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) and Ting Shou-chung (丁守中).
Youth Labor Union 95 spokesman Chen Poh-chien (陳柏謙) urged voters to boycott the lawmakers on the list in the next legislative election.
The demonstrators marched peacefully to Ketagalan Blvd in front of the Presidential Office, where alliance convener Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋) called on President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to oppose unfair tax reforms and remove Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德).
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS