Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/10/12
By: Chang Chien-chung and S.C. Chang

Taipei, Oct. 12 (CNA) Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said on Wednesday the

government will absolutely achieve its target of generating 20GW solar energy by 2025 — ensuring 20 percent of the nation’s total energy output is recyclable.

The government introduced the 2025 goal as part of its plan to phase out nuclear power generation. “The government is confident that it has the policies to realize that target,” Chen said while addressing the opening of the International Photovoltaic Exhibition (PV Taiwan 2016) at Nangang Exhibition Center Hall 1.

By 2025, he said, Taiwan will have realized its target of creating 20GW or 250 billion kwh using solar panels, but that goal will require an investment of NT$1.2 trillion (US$37.96 billion).

Making Taiwan a nuclear-free country isn’t the only reason to develop green energy, Chen said. “A more important reason is that green energy is a future trend and also creates major business opportunities.     [FULL  STORY]

PUBLIC SERVICE:A proposal to raise the estate, gift and tobacco taxes would generate NT$22 billion in revenue to sponsor long-term care services, the ministry said

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 13, 2016
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The Ministry of Finance yesterday unveiled plans to raise the inheritance, gift and tobacco taxes

to finance long-term care services for the nation’s aging population.
The ministry plans to raise inheritance and gift taxes from 10 percent to a range of up to 20 percent, and nearly triple tobacco taxes from NT$11.8 (US$0.37) to NT$31.8 per pack, which it estimated would generate about NT$22 billion in annual tax revenue to sponsor the long-term care services program.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare has proposed an annual budget of NT$17.8 billion to set up community-level facilities to assist 738,000 senior citizens who need daily care.

“The proposed tax hikes would have a very limited impact on the economy, because only a small number of affluent people would be affected,” Minister of Finance Sheu Yu-jer (許虞哲) told the legislature’s Finance Committee.

Instead of a flat 10 percent, inheritance and gift taxes would be replaced with a three-tier tax system, the ministry said in a report.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/10/11
By: Chen Cheng-wei and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Oct. 11 (CNA) Vegetable prices in the local wholesale market continued to shoot up Tuesday, rising about 7 percent from a day earlier following persistent rain brought by the outer periphery of Tropical Storm Aere in recent days, according to the Agriculture and Food Agency (AFA) under the Council of Agriculture.

In the Taipei Fruit and Vegetable Market — the benchmark fruit and vegetable marketplace in Taiwan — the average price of vegetables rose to NT$54.3 (US$1.72) per kilogram Tuesday from NT$50.7 per kg seen a day earlier, the AFA said.

Constant rainfall over the past few days has badly affected vegetable production and has caused a reduction in supplies by about 2 percent to 1,305 tons Tuesday from the 1,333 tons a day earlier, according to the AFA.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-10-11
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The elevated railway and five elevated stations in the Taichung metropolitan area will be inaugurated at 6 a.m. on Oct. 16, and the city will conduct traffic control around the stations to make sure the transfer from ground to elevated railway will be smooth, Taichung City Government said on Tuesday.

After the inauguration of the elevated railway, all Taiwan Railways trains will run on the elevated railway along the Taichung section, and the five elevated stations of Fengyuan, Tanzi, Taiyuan, Taichung and Daqing will also be open at the same time.

The elevated railway section has a total length of 21.7 kilometers, starting from 1.9 kilometers north of Fengyuan Station to 1.4 kilometers south of Daqing Station. In the future, five additional elevated commuter stations—Lilin Station, Toujiacuo Station, Songzhu Station, Jingwu Station and Wuquan Station—will be added to the railway section when their construction is completed.

Daqing Station and Songzhu Station will become transit hubs in the future as both stations will connect to the Taichung Metro Green Line.     [SOURCE]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/10/11
By: Bernie Chiu and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Oct. 11 (CNA) The Ministry of Finance said Tuesday that hikes in estate and gift tax, and

cigarette tax, could help funnel a total of NT$28.8 billion (US$909 million) per year into the government’s long-term care program.

The ministry will report to the Legislature on how the program will be financed Wednesday.

The Legislative Yuan has invited the ministry, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics and the Ministry of Health and Welfare to give reports on the issue.

In a written report made available Tuesday, the ministry said it is planning to adjust the present single tax rate of 10 percent to a three-tier system of 10 percent, 15 percent and 20 percent.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/10/10
By: Tien Yu-pin and Frances Huang

Taipei, Oct. 10 (CNA) An investment strategy to track factor-based indexes could become a trend in the local equity market, according to analysts who attended a recent seminar held by Taiwan Index Plus Corp.

In the seminar, analysts urged the local equity market to launch factor-based investing indexes that will provide relevant factors and deliver “risk adjusted” results.

Such an investment strategy, which weighs select factors such as economic strength, monetary policies and even geopolitical situations, could lead to a better return with fewer risks than the broader market, according to analysts.

Taiwan Index Plus, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Taiwan Stock Exchange, cited a survey conducted at the seminar as saying that 51 percent of the meeting attendees expressed hope that the local main board and the over-the-counter market will compile indexes that are comprised of a myriad of factors, in order to provide more investment options for investors.     [FULL  STORY]