Finance Minister Chang Sheng-ford says that he will ask Alibaba CEO Jack Ma to formally register his business in Taiwan. Chang was speaking at the legislature on Thursday.
The Chinese e-commerce giant broke its own sales record on November 11, a “Singles' Day” sales event, with a total turnover of NT$456 billion. Taobao, Alibaba’s biggest shopping platform, is reported to have made large profits as well.
Chang told lawmakers that he will personally ask Ma to register his business in Taiwan if Ma accepts an invitation to speak at a Taiwanese university.
As an unregistered foreign company, Taobao is not subject to Taiwanese revenue taxes. Only shipments worth more than NT$3000 are subject to Taiwanese tariffs. But Chang said that seven international business giants, including Facebook, Uber and Microsoft, have already applied to register in Taiwan.