Wed, Jun 07, 2023 page3

• Majority backs vacant house tax, poll finds

  NATIONAL POLICY: Nearly 67 percent of respondents in a poll said that they are willing to pay higher taxes if it means discouraging house hoarding in the nation

  • By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
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  Nearly 80 percent of people support levying a tax on vacant homes to increase the housing supply in Taiwan, a survey conducted by the New Power Party (NPP) showed.

  Survey results showed that 77.5 percent of the respondents said a vacant home tax should be levied to increase housing supply, while 43.5 percent said that those who have at least two homes should pay a vacant home tax.

  Nearly 63 percent said people should be asked to pay housing tax and land value tax based on actual selling prices, the survey showed.

  According to the poll, 66.7 percent of respondents were willing to pay more taxes to raise the cost of house hoarding.

  About 73 percent supported allowing tenants to list rent as a deductible when filing income tax.

  One in six houses in Taiwan is vacant, NPP Chairwoman Claire Wang (王婉諭) said, citing the results of the 2020 census.

  “Because the tax burden of owning a house is lower than that of owning a vehicle, it is difficult to deter house hoarding,” she said.

  “We propose levying a vacant home tax to increase the costs that house hoarders have to bear. This would force owners of multiple houses to rent out their homes, which would increase the number of rental homes, and balance supply and demand in the market,” she said.

  Houses that are registered as self-occupied or declared as rental homes should be exempted from a vacant house tax, Wang said.

  “The starting rate of a vacant home tax should be 10 percent per house. A progressive tax rate should be adopted for each apartment a person owns and the longer they keep it,” she said.

  The government should target vacant homes in metropolitan areas, particularly those in the six special municipalities and Hsinchu County, Wang said.

  A vacant home tax does not need to apply to inherited houses or old houses jointly owned by multiple people in rural areas, or dilapidated houses in urban areas, she added.

  “The bill we will propose during the next legislative session will make vacant home tax a national tax, rather than one levied by local governments,” Wang said.

  If passed, the policy would affect about 500,000 home owners nationwide, she said, adding that it could help restore order in the housing market.

  “We want to ask all political parties and candidates in next year’s presidential election to stand with us and bravely push for a housing tax reform,” she said.

  Peng Yang-kai (彭揚凱), secretary-general of the Organization of Urban Re-s, said that a vacant home tax is the way to force landlords to sell or rent out their apartments, adding that this would facilitate a more flexible use of property, he said.

  The survey, which was conducted from May 18 to 22, collected 1,758 valid samples and has a margin of error of 2.34 percentage points.

  Of the respondents, 84 percent were home owners or living in homes owned by family members, while 16 percent were tenants, the party said.
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