KMT supports abolition of capital gain tax on stock investment

 KMT supports abolition of capital gain tax on stock investment

                                                November 17, 2016

Lin Yi-hua, director of Kuomintang’s Culture and Communications Committee, said on November 17 that the KMT supports abolition of the capital gain tax on stock investment due to its potentially negative impact to the local stock market.

As a responsible party, she said the KMT has found the need to do away with the controversial tax in response to the global economic woes.

The legislature passed the capital gain tax on stock investment in mid-2003, but its implementation in 2008 was delayed due to fears that it would negatively affect the local stock market.

Last week, the KMT caucus in the legislature decided to amend the Income Tax Act to bring an end to this tax, which has created a controversy since its introduction in mid-2003.  With the support of legislators from the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, the legislature passed the amendment on November 17 to remove the implementation of this tax.

Lin said KMT Chairman Eric Chu has long supported abolition of such a tax and has made this a part of his campaign platform in running in the 2016 presidential election.

She noted that when Chu was vice premier between 2009 and 2010, he already said in a taxation reform committee meeting that imposition of the capital gain tax would bring negative impact to the local stock market.

Separately on November 16, Lin called for TV debates among the presidential candidates fielded by political parties in Taiwan so that the public will have better understanding of the campaign views and policies raised by the candidates.

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