The Cabinet has completed a review of a new capital gains tax bill. According to the draft released on Wednesday, home sellers will face a 45% tax if they sell their property after having owned it for less than one year.
Cabinet Minister Woody Duh said that a series of hearings will be held all over the country to gather opinions from the public in order to make adjustments to the tax scheme before the draft is sent to the legislature for approval.
The Cabinet said the new tax scheme is scheduled to take effect in 2016 if lawmakers pass the proposal.
Duh said the capital gains tax scheme aims to raise the tax burden shouldered by property sellers who have held their property for just a short time before selling while benefiting sellers who have held their property for longer. He said the plan will also give even better preferential tax status to sellers who have held their property for a longer period of time.
Market analysts say that the new tax scheme is designed to rein in skyrocketing home prices in Taiwan by curbing market speculation, which is perceived as the driver of high property prices.