The legislature passed a motion on Wednesday that will delay a tax on stock gains targeting stock-market high rollers.
The new law means that investors will need to pay an extra 0.1% transaction tax on trades beyond the NT$1 billion threshold or a 15% tax on their capital gains. The legislature’s decision means that the new law will take effect in 2018 instead of next month.
Taiwan already imposes a transaction tax of 0.3% on all stock market trades, which is higher than many countries in Asia and Europe. The new tax targeting high rollers has sparked resistance among investors. Major players have been threatening to invest their funds elsewhere to avoid the tax.
The finance ministry said that the new measure is meant to promote tax fairness, and so it should not be scrapped. But because the new tax will not go into effect until 2018, there is still time for the government to adjust it.