The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a development plan for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which includes preferential loans, tax incentives and digital transformation support.
The plan offers tax incentives for research and development, intellectual property rights, and employee expansion and salary raises, with the latter also opening the door to additional government subsidies.
Taiwan’s economic achievements and performance depend on its 1.63 million small businesses, which also contribute to the nation’s economic stability and well-being, Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) quoted Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) as saying during the Cabinet meeting.
Photo courtesy of the Executive Yuan
The plan is focused on helping SMEs expand their access to domestic and international markets, and support their transition to a digital economy and net zero emissions, Small and Medium Enterprise Startup Administration Director-General Lee Guann-jyh (李冠志) said.
The preferential loan program specifically targets SMEs with less than 30 employees, Lee said.
Taiwan has 1.43 million small businesses that have less than 30 employees, which account for 87 percent of all SMEs, Lee added.
The program offers subsidies of up to NT$100,000 (US$3,102) for SMEs that are undergoing digital transformation to help mitigate the impact of minimum wage increases and help cover the cost of training employees, he said.
If these businesses increase revenue and provide salary raises, they can receive additional subsidies, he added.
To encourage wage increases, the government is considering a fund that SMEs can access upon providing raises that could be worth NT$35 million at a low handling fee of 0.1 percent, Lee said.
The incentives are to be retroactive from Jan. 1 and continue until Dec. 31, 2033.
Additionally, the Ministry of Economic Affairs plans to incorporate tax incentives for industrial holding companies into amendments to the Statute for Industrial Innovation (產業創新條例), Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Chin-tsang (何晉滄) said.
These proposals were originally suggested by the National Development Council in hopes of supporting key manufacturing sectors, he added.
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
STAY VIGILANT: When experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, such as dizziness or fatigue, near a water heater, open windows and doors to ventilate the area Rooftop flue water heaters should only be installed outdoors or in properly ventilated areas to prevent toxic gas from building up, the Yilan County Fire Department said, after a man in Taipei died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Monday last week. The 39-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), an assistant professor at Providence University in Taichung, was at his Taipei home for the holidays when the incident occurred, news reports said. He was taking a shower in the bathroom of a rooftop addition when carbon monoxide — a poisonous byproduct of combustion — leaked from a water heater installed in a poorly ventilated
RSS