Tax act amendment set to plug tax evaders’ loophole
By Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporter
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved an amendment to the Tax Collection Act (稅捐稽徵法) that would increase fines for tax evasion, aiming to fix a loophole that allows tax evaders to get away with milder penalties.
Under the existing act, people found to have intentionally evaded paying their taxes face a fine of up to NT$60,000 (US$2,114) or five years in prison.
Some lawmakers have long said that the act allows room for “certain powerful people” to skirt the law after dodging billions in taxes.
A woman submits her tax documents at the Taipei National Taxation Bureau on May 1 last year.
Amendments aim for housing justice taipeitimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from taipeitimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Tax revenue in the nation last month totaled NT$187.4 billion (US$6.6 billion), rising 20.9 percent from a year earlier, as record stock transaction volumes bolstered income from securities transaction taxes, while a lower comparison base last year also helped, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
Securities transaction tax income contributed NT$21.2 billion to the state coffers, more than a threefold increase from NT$7 billion a year earlier, as daily securities turnover rose to NT$428.7 billion, compared with NT$179.8 billion in January last year, Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Chen Yu-feng (陳玉豐) said.
The TAIEX has repeatedly rallied to new highs in the
Basic tax allowance increase to benefit 2m households
Staff writer, with CNA
The Ministry of Finance has adjusted upward a basic allowance that taxpayers can deduct from their income when filing their taxes, a measure that would benefit 2.05 million households, it said on Wednesday.
The basic living expense allowance per person for fiscal year 2020 for income taxes to be filed next year has been raised from NT$175,000 to NT$182,000 (US$6,144 to US$6,390), the ministry said.
Under the individual income tax filing system, if the amount of basic living expenses is higher than the sum of the personal exemption (NT$88,000 per taxpayer or dependent), a standard deduction of NT$120,000 per taxpayer and various special deductions, the difference can be used as an additional tax deduction from the taxpayer’s total income.