At its weekly Thursday meeting, the Cabinet approved a draft bill written by the Ministry of Finance to address the repatriation, use and taxation of offshore assets. The draft bill now go to the Legislature for review and debate.
Premier Su Tseng-chang said that in response to recent changes in the global economy, the government is taking the initiative to assist overseas Taiwanese businesses rebalance their international investments. The draft bill provides appropriate tax incentives to encourage Taiwanese individuals and for-profit enterprises to repatriate overseas assets for tangible investment in Taiwan, all in compliance with international accords against money laundering and terrorism financing. The premier said that the inflow of assets would promote industrial development and the creation of jobs.
The draft legislation specifies that repatriated assets must be deposited into special finance accounts, and in principle may not be used to purchase real estate. In the first year following the bill's provisions going into effect, repatriated funds are subject to a preferential tax rate of 8 percent. In the second year, the rate rises to 10 percent. In cases where the assets are applied directly to a tangible local investment, the government will refund half of any taxes assessed.