Some of the tariff cuts on imported commodities and goods, introduced in Taiwan as early as December 2021 to ease the impact of inflation caused by geopolitical tensions on local businesses, are to be extended to March next year, the Executive Yuan announced on Friday.
The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the recent conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, as well as increasing natural disasters caused by climate change, have led to drastic fluctuations in the prices of international crude oil and commodities, such as soybeans, corn and wheat, the announcement said.
The announcement was made after a meeting of the Price Stabilization Committee led by Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦). It was decided that the business tax on imported soybeans, corns and wheat waived since February is to remain until March 31.
Photo: CNA
Import tariffs on wheat are also to continue being waived, while customs duties on butter, milk powder for baking and frozen beef are to be halved, according to the Executive Yuan.
The 50 percent cut to the commodity tax on Portland cement Type 1 would be extended, as well as the NT$2 per liter cut on gasoline prices and the NT$1.5 per liter cut on diesel, according to the announcement.
Cheng also asked that ministries and other government agencies keep close communication with businesses and business groups to ensure that the tariff cuts would be reflected in product prices.
The Fair Trade Commission should investigate businesses that are engaged in concerted actions to raise prices, and work with the Ministry of Justice’s joint prices monitoring task force to deter price gouging, Cheng said during the meeting.
In September, the local consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.93 percent from a year earlier, the highest rise since January, when it rose 3.05 percent.
In the first nine months of this year, Taiwan’s CPI grew 2.36 percent from a year earlier, with core CPI up 2.64 percent, both above the central bank’s 2 percent target.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS