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DPP slams government
for co-ordination failure
DISCONNECT: One DPP lawmaker likened the Ma
administration to a Hydra-like monster with multiple heads that disagreed,
another said the Cabinet was a ‘scarecrow Cabinet’
By Tseng Wei-chen, Amy Su and Lisa Wang / Staff reporters
Minister of Finance Christina Liu
talks at a press conference on April 12 announcing the Ministry of Finance’s
version of the capital gains tax on securities transactions.
Photo: CNA
Opposition lawmakers yesterday accused the
executive branch of a serious failure to communicate with its own ministers
following remarks by Minister of Finance Christina Liu (劉憶如) that she would not
have proposed a capital gains tax on securities transactions if she had been
aware that the government planned to raise fuel prices and electricity rates.
Liu reportedly made the remarks during a conversation with Chinese Nationalist
Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Hui-mei (王惠美) on Friday.
However, Liu added that she still thought the levy would help to boost the
national coffers and meet the government’s goal of making the taxation system
fairer.
Liu cited the example of Hon Hai Group (鴻海集團) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘), who paid
only NT$3.48 million (US$117,500) in securities transaction taxes in 2010 while
making NT$1 billion selling local stocks.
Based on the capital gains tax currently proposed, Gou would have had to pay
NT$75 million in tax, Liu reportedly said.
Late on Friday, Liu said she was not aware when she spoke to Wang that one of
the other individuals present was a reporter.
Liu’s remarks drew questions from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers
yesterday on the policymaking process of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九)
administration, with several saying here was an obvious lack of consultation and
discussion between senior officials when formulating policy prior to policy
announcements.
Ministers clearly hold personal policy-related talks with Ma outside the
framework of government, which is a root cause of the frequent chaos seen at the
highest levels, DPP legislators said.
DPP Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安) blamed the government’s internal inconsistencies
on Ma’s one-man policymaking and department heads who make their own unilateral
decisions.
“The consultation mechanism in the Executive Yuan and the upper echelons of the
government appear to be nothing but an empty shell. Either they never read the
news, or they are too foggy-minded, leading to the hasty implementation of major
policies,” Pan said
A policymaking model under which everyone only answers to Ma while brushing
aside the administrative role of the Executive Yuan is the cause of social
unrest in the country, Pan said, calling the Cabinet a “scarecrow Cabinet.”
DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) described the Ma administration as a
“Hydra-like government” with multiple heads that often disagree over
policymaking.
Terry Gou responded to comments on his tax status.
In a statement released on Friday, the Hon Hai group said: “Hon Hai Group and
chairman Gou pay taxes according to the law.”
It is improper to use Gou’s case to justify the planned levy of the capital
gains tax, the statement added.
Government officials should focus on the matters at hand when they addressed
public policies, rather than target specific individuals, it said.
Liu allegedly made the remark in a bid to make the public believe that the
proposed capital gains tax was discussed prior to the government’s decisions to
raise fuel prices and electricity rates. However, the Cabinet only approved a
revised draft of the securities capital gains tax bill on April 26, weeks after
its announcements of fuel price increases on April 1 and electricity rate hikes
on April 12.
Saying the Executive Yuan always ensures its ministers communicate on major
policy issues, Premier Sean Chen yesterday said it could be that Liu was so
focused on tackling the capital gain tax issue at the time that she failed to
take note of other developments.
Executive Yuan spokesperson Hu Yu-wei (胡幼偉) yesterday admitted there was a
discrepancy in the policy timeline outlined by Liu, but added that she believed
she was engaged in a private conversation and was seeking to speed up the
passage of the proposed bill.
Additional reporting by Su Yung-yao
Translated by Stacy Hsu, Staff Writer
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