Military welcomes proposed tax to support all-volunteer shift
ROC Central News Agency
2014/03/06 19:49:30
Taipei, March 6 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense welcomes the idea of a tax to support the military's transition to an all-volunteer force, a ranking officer said Thursday, adding that the decision will rest with the Ministry of Finance.
Lt. Gen. Benjamin Chen, director of the ministry's Comptroller Bureau, made the comments in response to lawmakers' questions during a hearing of the Legislature's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
A possible tax was previously discussed during a meeting of a Cabinet task force, according to Defense Minister Yen Ming, but few definite details have been provided at this point.
Finance Minister Chang Sheng-ford, when asked for comment, said that no plans are currently in place to impose the tax.
The government's current focus is a reform plan to increase tax revenues, Chang said.
'(Such a tax) is not needed if the new tax reform plan can generate sufficient financial resources,' he added.
The reforms would center on narrowing the rich-poor divide by increasing taxes paid by high-income earners and big financial institutions while increasing deductions for salaried workers and people with disabilities, Chang said when he announced the new plan late last month.
Taiwan plans to shift to an all-volunteer force by 2017. It originally planned for the transition to be completed by 2015, but pushed the date back due to lower-than-expected recruitment numbers.
To achieve the 2017 goal, the government has been trying to offer more incentives for young people to pursue a military career, including increased monthly duty allowances.
(By Claudia Liu, Claire Chen, Wang Chin-yi and Elaine Hou)
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