Import tax for quartz glass products used in the semiconductor industry is to be lowered to 1.2 percent after the Legislative Yuan yesterday passed the third reading of an amendment to the Customs Import Tariff Act (海關進口稅則).
The Ministry of Finance last year proposed the amendment to ensure that the categories listed in the act align with last year’s edition of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System published by the World Customs Organization. The bill was approved by Executive Yuan on Aug. 11 last year.
Quartz glass products used in the semiconductor industry are imported in many forms and can be classified under different tariff codes under current regulations, resulting in a range of applicable tax rates, the finance ministry said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
For example, the import tax for glass balls, glass rods and glass tubes is set at 1.2 percent, while the tax for quartz crucibles used in the manufacture of semiconductors is 5 percent and that for other industrial glassware is 10 percent, the ministry said.
The amendment sets tax rules for quartz glass products exclusively used in the semiconductor industry and stipulates additional regulations, the ministry said.
If a quartz glass product is certified by the Ministry of Economic Affairs as for use in the semiconductor industry, it is to be taxed a uniform rate of 1.2 percent, meaning some products with import tax of 10 percent could benefit.
The amendment also adjusts the tax classification of squid products by adding four new categories: live, fresh or frozen squid; unsmoked frozen squid; dried, salted or soaked but unsmoked squid; and smoked squid.
The tax rates were set in accordance with the norms of the WTO, the ministry said.
The amendment would help expedite trade negotiations with other countries, the Executive Yuan said.
An amendment to the Social Worker Act (社會工作師法) was also passed by the legislature.
It bans those who have been found guilty of contravening the Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act (性侵害犯罪防治法), Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (性騷擾防治法) or Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act (兒童及少年性剝削防制條例) from becoming social workers.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
‘NEW NORMAL’: A Japanese official said the drills show that the PLA can carry out large maneuvers without announcement, ‘leaving all of us struggling to respond’ Beijing’s recent naval exercises have left Taiwan and the US “struggling” for a response as the two nations drew different conclusions about the implications of the Chinese military drills, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Sunday. Taiwan has been bracing for China to hold military drills to retaliate against President William Lai’s (賴清德) diplomatic visits abroad, the outlet said, referring to Lai’s Nov. 30 to Dec. 6 tour to Taiwan’s three South Pacific allies, which included stopovers in Hawaii and Guam. Beijing announced partial air traffic restrictions across seven time zones along its coast from Shanghai to Hong Kong over two days. Yet,
CONNECTED: A survey of students from third grade to university seniors showed that 80% had cellphones, spending on average 37.27 hours per week on them Line users in Taiwan made an average of 100 million voice or video calls each day this year, while “like/thumbs up” was the most frequently used emoji in reaction to a message on the service, the Tokyo-based operator of the messaging app said yesterday. The app’s ability to adjust the quality of video and voice calls helps contribute to its frequent use, LY Corp said in a statement. As of Nov. 30, Line users in Taiwan spent an average of about one hour per day on the app, often checking it in the morning for messages that might have come through overnight,
RSS