To accelerate the realization of housing justice and balanced regional development, Premier Jiang Yi-huah discussed housing policy with relevant ministries today.
The country's housing policy must be planned comprehensively, Jiang emphasized. "In order to solve housing problems, we have to resolve how to best balance the development of urban and rural areas," he said. Various solutions will be promoted, including building up transportation infrastructure to relieve crowding in the most heavily populated areas.
The premier also pointed out that housing and real estate price rationalization involve a variety of measures and programs—including tax reforms—and building more homes is just one initiative. Therefore, the focus of the housing conversation must return to the comprehensive project aimed at strengthening the market, he stated. The Executive Yuan will keep an eye on this project's progress and continue launching stage-by-stage discussions and reviews.
Jiang asked about the progress of affordable and social housing promotion over the past few years and instructed the Ministry of the Interior to offer more detailed analyses, including cross-county and transnational comparisons, to serve as references for decision-making and facilitate more methodical policy promotion in the future.
The housing policy budget is mainly supported by public housing funds, the premier indicated. In order to stabilize their sources of funding, after legislative approval of the real estate tax amendment proposed by the Ministry of Finance (which would take actual transaction prices into consideration) a specific proportion of budget should be set aside for public housing funds every year, he said.
As for leasing assistance, Jiang said that in the amendment to the House Tax Act promulgated this June, the house tax for houses leased for public welfare purposes by landlords registered as charities remained 1.2 percent to encourage the leasing of homes to the disadvantaged. Furthermore, the addition to the Housing Act of an income tax reduction or exemption for landlords who lease to a recipient of a NT$4,000 (US$133) monthly rent subsidy for young people and disadvantaged groups will be deliberated.