The Tax Relief for American Workers and Families Act, which included a tax relief proposal for Taiwanese businesses and workers, failed to pass the US Senate after falling short in a vote on Thursday.
The New York Times reported that Senate Republicans believed they would be in a better negotiating position after November’s election, as they hope to win control of the chamber.
A procedural vote related to the major tax package that would have increased the child tax credit and restored some tax breaks for businesses in the US had 48 votes in favor and 44 opposed, but 60 votes were needed for the measure to overcome the filibuster and pass.
Photo: Reuters
The bill, which was passed with bipartisan support in the US House of Representatives, was opposed by Republicans in the Senate, who were not in favor of expanding the child tax credit.
One part of the bill, the US-Taiwan Expedited Double-Tax Relief Act, established special rules for the taxation of residents of Taiwan with income from sources within the US.
It covered “the reduction of the rate of withholding of taxes, the application of permanent establishment rules, treatment of income from employment, and the determination of the residency of citizens of Taiwan.”
However, the bill also stipulated that because the measure required full reciprocal benefits, “it does not come into full effect until Taiwan provides the same set of benefits to US persons with income subject to tax in Taiwan.”
With the US Congress now in recess, the bill cannot be revisited until lawmakers return next month.
Taiwan has been working with the US on double taxation avoidance.
In May last year, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), who was representative to the US at the time, said that eliminating double taxation was a priority in bilateral negotiations.
Only Taiwan among the US’ top 10 trading partners does not have a bilateral tax agreement with Washington, Hsiao said, calling it “unfair” that Taiwanese companies have to pay higher taxes than other foreign-invested companies in the US.
A Bloomberg report last year said that Taiwanese companies effectively pay a 51 percent tax rate on profits earned in the US, which is at least 10 percentage points higher than companies from South Korea or Australia.
Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) discussed the elimination of double taxation during his meeting with US officials in Washington in June.
During the trip, Kuo said that the avoidance of double taxation could help attract Taiwanese small and medium-sized enterprises to invest in the US, and expressed hope that the the tax relief proposal could be passed into law as soon as possible.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS