Married couples are set to gain from a new amendment to the Income Tax Act. The amendment will no longer subject married couples to higher tax rates for income.
Under the current Income Tax Act, married couples are required to file their non-salary income together which usually puts them in a higher tax bracket. In 2012, the grand justices ruled the unfair treatment unconstitutional.
Ruling Kuomintang lawmaker Lu Shiow-yen spoke about the amendment.
“The amendment will remove the stigma of punishing marriages," said Lu. "The amendment is belated justice, It’s our best New Year’s present," she said.
The amendment will be applicable to married couples when filing individual income tax in May of this year. About 650,000 couples will benefit from the change, and the national coffers will lose NT$15 billion in taxes as a result.