Central government agencies have rolled out a host of relief measures to assist individuals and businesses affected by the July 31 Kaohsiung gas explosions, the Executive Yuan said today.
These measures include government policy-oriented loans offered by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and disaster-related loans from domestic banks. The Ministry of Finance (MOF) is reducing or eliminating many taxes including individual income tax, profit-seeking enterprise income tax, business tax, amusement tax, commodity tax, tobacco and alcohol tax, house tax, land value tax and vehicle license tax.
In addition, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications is waiving fees or extending payments dates for automobile and motorcycle owners, while the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) is providing psychological counseling and allowing disaster victims without national health insurance cards to receive medical care.
For businesses that need special guidance, the One-stop Service Center of the MOEA's Small and Medium Enterprise Administration (SMEA) is offering free consultation on post-disaster restoration loans, providing advice on financial and accounting matters, and visiting stores and factories for on-site evaluations.
Businesses facing financial difficulty or insolvency can call the One-stop Service Center (0800-056-476) to obtain help negotiating bank loan repayments. The MOEA has also set up a dedicated window offering tax-reduction consultations, and are dispatching representatives to damaged factories to assist with restoration (hotline: 0800-000-257).
The MOEA said that affected businesses can apply for several types of loans such as small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) post-disaster recovery loans (interest rate not more than 2.375 percent), assistance loans for SMEs (interest rate not exceeding 3.43 percent), and loans for micro-businesses with less than five employees.
Any SME may apply for these loans through banks if the local administrative office or industry authority issues confirmation of disaster damage, or if the bank verifies that the SME has indeed sustained losses. If the SME does not have enough collateral, it may apply to the Small and Medium Business Credit Guarantee Fund (SMEG), which can grant a credit guarantee of up to 90 percent of the loan. The processing fee for credit guarantee issuance can be waived for qualified applicants of the disaster recovery and micro-business loans. SMEG assistance is also available to help businesses with insufficient collateral obtain loans financed by the banks themselves.
Regarding tax relief, MOF officials pointed out that measures are available for citizens suffering personal losses, homeowners sustaining more than 30 percent damage to their houses, and landowners whose land cannot technically be used due to environmental hazards such as landslide, subsidence, sediment outflow or sand pressure. The ministry's special inquiry line is 0800-086-969.
As for victims requiring medical attention for injuries sustained from the explosion, the MOHW particularly urged all contracted hospitals and clinics to make special exceptions and receive patients who are unable to access their national health insurance cards or whose cards were damaged. Meanwhile, the ministry set up a special line (0800-788-995) to offer counseling to victims and rescue workers.
While presiding over a meeting of the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC), Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Woody Duh said water and electricity are gradually being restored to affected areas and that the MOHW should provide returning residents with more psychological support. He also asked the MOF to make sure that the National Taxation Bureau of Kaohsiung sends officials to help people claim tax breaks and preserve evidence of damage. The officials must explain the procedures clearly and take the initiative to follow up with victims.