Imposition of Energy Tax Suspended Till Economy Rebounds

Taipei, April 28, 2008 (CENS)-- response to the newly-elected President Ma Ying Jeou's statement that his government would impose energy tax, H.C. Hsueh, designated secretary general of the new government's Executive Yuan, the Cabinet, said the proposed energy tax would be imposed at an appropriate time.

Hsueh noted the appropriate time is when the economy rebounds so that people here won't feel as heavily burdened by the tax. He said the imposition of the energy tax is a part of the environmental policy submitted by Ma during campaigning. But the imposition of the energy tax has to pass legislative approval.

The imposition of such energy tax cannot be viewed as a way to up the tax burden on the people, said Hsueh, but only as a means to promote green behavior. He promised that the proposed energy tax won't be imposed starting in July as rumors have it.

Ma's environmental policy would turn the increased revenues from such energy tax into raising deductibles for the income tax; scrapping the commodity, entertainment and stamp taxes on sectors aside from the automotive and cement; providing low-income allowances; sharing businesses' social welfare expenditures; and financing R&D of new energy.

S.H. Shen, designated minister of the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration under the newly elected government, said the promotion of the energy tax is to cut resource wasting, rather than a punitive tax.

Shen said he would promote voluntary green measures after assuming the post, including the rating of green measures taken by the public sector.

The legislature is reviewing the draft of greenhouse gas emission minimization act, which stipulates such emissions by 2015 shall be less than that in 2005.

A survey conducted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs shows that the island will spew an additional 30 million metric tons of greenhouse gases each of the next few years without effective energy saving means being introduced.