The Hualien County Council on Wednesday rejected a Hualien County Government proposal to continue collecting a special mining tax, citing concerns over the motion’s legality.
During an extraordinary session to review 66 county government proposals, which began on Wednesday and runs until Friday next week, the council rejected a proposal to renew an ordinance to collect a tax on mining operations that was designed to protect tourist attractions.
The ordinance, in effect since 2009, allowed the local government to collect taxes on all mining operations for four years.
The regulations were changed last year to require that the ordinance be renewed yearly.
The council’s rejection stemmed from objections to the tax raised last year by Fu An Mining Co.
The county government’s 2016 version of the ordinance contravened Article 4 of the Act Governing Local Tax Regulations (地方稅法通則), as it raised the tax rate in excess of 30 percent from the original rate, Fu An said.
The 2016 version had a rate of NT$70 (US$2.51) per tonne of mined ore, an increase of NT$60 from the previous ordinance.
The Taipei High Administrative Court ruled in favor of the company and the Supreme Administrative Court in January dismissed an appeal by the Hualien County Tax Bureau.
Council Legal Regulations Office Director Yu Yu-lin (余玉琳) said that the legality and propriety of the Hualien County Government introducing the ordinance at this juncture was questionable.
Fu An filed another administrative suit against the county after the local tax bureau did not issue a refund, Yu said.
Hualien County Tax Bureau Director Lu Yu-chih (呂玉枝) said that it would contest the council’s decision and seek a constitutional interpretation from the Council of Grand Justices.
Hualien County Council Speaker Chang Chun (張峻) said that although the council supports a mining tax, it must be implemented correctly, or it might become a large financial burden for residents if mining companies have to be refunded.
The ordinance’s failure to pass means that the county’s revenue would fall by at least NT$1 billion this year, the county government said.
This would affect funding for policies and destabilize the county’s financial revenue, it said, adding that it was the “darkest day” for Hualien County “since the promulgation of the Local Government Act (地方制度法).”
Hualien County Government Secretary-General Chang Yi-hua (張逸華) said that the goal of the tax was to cover the overheads for environmental protection operations, which mining operations make necessary.
The county government would continue to negotiate with the council in hopes of passing the ordinance, he said.
‘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 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS