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
Minister of Finance Sheu Yu-jer yesterday speaks at the legislature in Taipei, suggesting that raising the business tax should be evaluated with caution so as to avoid possible price increases. Photo: CNA
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]
