Buyers of low-polluting vehicles in Taiwan could soon get additional tax breaks through draft amendments to the Commodity Tax Act and Vehicle License Tax Act that have passed preliminary review in the Legislature, according to the Ministry of Finance May 23.
One proposed amendment would cut the commodity tax for five years by NT$25,000 (US$862) per vehicle for the purchase of bi-fuel automobiles running alternately on liquefied petroleum gas and gasoline.
“About 5,200 vehicle owners are expected to benefit,” Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der said.
Meanwhile, the proposed revision to the Vehicle License Act would authorize local governments to decide on whether to grant license tax exemptions for electric vehicles.
The tax exemption is aimed at encouraging the use of green cars to cut carbon emissions, the MOF said, adding that it could propel industries to invest in developing low-carbon vehicles.
In addition, as both acts currently base tax calculations on total cylinder displacement volume, the draft revisions add a license tax rate schedule for electric vehicles so as to provide a clear legal foundation for tax collection based on horsepower, the MOF said.
If passed, the two amendments would result in a loss of about NT$136.5 million in tax revenues for the government, Lee noted.
