The National Development Council (NDC) says it plans to lower tax rates and ease visa regulations in order to attract more overseas talent to Taiwan. That’s the word from the NDC Deputy Minister Kao Shien-quey on Thursday.
The NDC also hopes to make getting work permits, getting residency, getting insurance and paying taxes easier. Simplified rules will also apply to visas for overseas graduates coming to Taiwan for internships, work visas for highly skilled professionals and visas for international businesspeople interested in coming to invest in Taiwan.
Kao also said her office will look into providing lowered tax rates for high level professionals from abroad.
"Some companies have complained that foreigners working in Taiwan, especially highly skilled workers, are in the 45% tax rate bracket which is relatively high. We hope that we can work on giving them a lowered tax rate during their first three years of working in Taiwan. The finance ministry will take this matter into consideration in its overall program of income tax reform," Kao said.
Meanwhile, the government plans to relax restrictions on the Nationality Act. The act currently requires a foreigner to stay a minimum of 183 days in Taiwan each year to avoid losing eligibilty for permanent residency.