Taiwanese business leaders are scrambling to head off a proposed 10 per cent minimum corporate tax rate on the island, floating an alternative plan to cap corporate taxes at a flat 7.5 per cent.
At a meeting last week with Taiwanese Premier Frank Hsieh Chang-ting and top financial officials, corporate leaders urged the government to retain the tax advantages that have served the island well over the years.
'We are not against a minimum business levy, but any taxation scale must be set to allow us to maintain competitiveness,' said Rock Hsu, chairman of the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association.
Mr Hsieh reiterated on Saturday that the government would introduce a minimum tax, even if it generated resistance and controversy.
He said that tax reform had failed in previous years because the government had lacked the wherewithal to withstand public opposition.
According to a draft law submitted last week by the Ministry of Finance to the cabinet, businesses with an annual income of NT$2 million ($486,800) or more would be subject to a minimum tax rate of 10 per cent.
