TAXATION
Thresholds to be raised
The monthly sales threshold for businesses to apply for tax registration is likely to be raised to NT$100,000 (US$3,108) for goods and NT$50,000 for services to keep pace with inflation, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The current threshold is NT$80,000 for goods and NT$40,000 for services. Business operators who do not sell enough per month to meet the threshold do not need to pay business tax. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城) during a meeting at the legislature made the suggestion to raise the threshold by 25 percent based on the consumer price index. Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) responded that the ministry would change the threshold to follow that suggestion. The policy is to be formally announced by the end of this month ahead of a 30-day public comment period, followed by potential implementation on Jan. 1, Chuang said. Lawmakers had been calling for an adjustment to keep pace with inflation, as the figure had not changed for 17 years.
TRANSPORTATION
YouBike fees to be cut
YouBike rentals in New Taipei City are to be free for the first 30 minutes starting in the first quarter of next year at the earliest, the city government said yesterday. The move follows a decision by the Taipei City Government in February to reinstate the free first half hour, as people travel regularly between New Taipei City and Taipei, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) told a council meeting. The first 30 minutes were free when the service was launched, but that was changed to only be free for people transferring from other public transportation or with a regional transit pass, New Taipei City Transportation Department Director Chung Ming-shih (鍾鳴時) said. Currently, the first 30 minutes costs NT$5, with the remaining NT$5 of the total NT$10 cost covered by the city government, Chung said.
WEATHER
Temperatures to fall
Cooler temperatures with brief showers are forecast across northern and northeastern parts of the nation from Saturday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said on Tuesday. Seasonal winds combined with an arriving weather front are expected to bring temperature highs down by 5°C to 27°C that day, CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said. Intermittent showers are also likely, with a chance of heavy rain in parts of Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as coastal areas of Keelung, Lin said. Although the effects of the weather front would only last for a day, the strengthening seasonal winds would result in cooler weather until Tuesday next week, he said.
CULTURE
Juming museum reopens
Juming Museum (朱銘美術館) in New Taipei City’s Jinshan District (金山) reopened to the public on Tuesday, 11 days after suffering extensive damage from flooding caused by Typhoon Krathon. During the Oct. 4 typhoon, floodwater breached the museum’s storage facilities, knocked down sculptures displayed outside and flooded low-lying areas of the museum’s 110,000m2 campus, museum director Liu Po-Tsun (劉柏村) said. In total, 50 indoor and 86 outdoor artworks were damaged, as was some of the museum’s electrical equipment, Liu said, adding that the works of art would all be professionally restored. The museum’s exhibition “Fang Wu (方物),” which features works by 20 artists from across East Asia, were not affected by the flooding and only suffered minor humidity damage, Liu said.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
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