No plans for tax to support volunteer military: premier
ROC Central News Agency
2014/03/07 16:54:35
Taipei, March 7 (CNA) Premier Jiang Yi-huah said Friday that the Cabinet has no intention at the moment to plan or study a special tax to support the military's transition to an all-volunteer force.
The Ministry of Finance mentioned the concept during discussions on Taiwan's long-term finances a few months ago, but no plans have been developed and no new tax systems are being considered, said Jiang in response to a lawmaker's query on the tax at a legislative hearing.
Echoing Jiang, Finance Minister Chang Sheng-ford said no such tax was being planned.
Legislator Lin Te-fu asked Jiang about speculation that the tax was proposed to give the government an excuse to abandon its vision of an all-volunteer military.
Some have suggested that with the all-volunteer system getting off to a difficult start, the government proposed the tax to incite a backlash and then use that as an excuse to halt the program because of insufficient funding.
Jiang rejected the speculation, saying that the Ministry of National Defense has confidence in the system.
Acknowledging that recruiting drives failed to meet their target last year, the premier said the situation has improved this year because the Cabinet agreed to raise stipends for volunteer soldiers.
'There's no need to use a new tax to help the system,' Jiang said.
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 target, the government has been trying to offer more incentives for young people to pursue a military career, including increased monthly duty allowances.
(By Wang Chin-yi and Elizabeth Hsu)
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