《TAIPEI TIMES》 Innovation amendments seek to attract investment

USE IT OR LOSE IT: Owners of unused land can be fined and would be required to propose a utilization plan, or risk local governments seizing and auctioning property

By Sean Lin / Staff reporter

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The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed amendments to the Act for Industrial Innovation （產業創新條例）, including a provision that offers angel investors tax deductions of up to NT$3 million （US$99,430）.

The provision stipulates that angel investors who invest at least NT$1 million in firms determined by local authorities to be innovative and less than two years old are eligible to receive a tax deduction equivalent to 50 percent of their investment, up to a maximum of NT$3 million.

Innovative firms established within a certain time frame with at least NT$300 million in capital whose shareholders have provided a least 30 percent of the company’s capital or invested NT$300 million in innovate sectors would be exempt from paying business income tax and their founders would be exempt from paying personal income tax, as long as at least 50 percent of its capital is spent domestically.

However, the firms’ registered business partners would still be required to pay personal income tax.

To encourage state-run enterprises to conduct research and development, the amendments allow them to bypass stipulations of the Government Procurement Act （政府採購法） and engage in selective bidding when carrying out procurement for research and development.

The amendments also allow state-run enterprises to claim ownership of the results of their research.

In another bid to encourage research and development, a rule stipulating that taxes on shares linked to technology transfers by research institutes can be deferred for five years has been relaxed, with shareholders now only taxed when the transfer is completed.

To address a shortage of space for the industrial sector, the amendments set a fine for owners of disused land at 10 percent of the land’s assessed value.

The fine is to be levied against landowners who fail to find a use for the land or fail to reach an agreement with local governments on how to use the properties within two years of local land registration authorities designating them as unused.

Those who receive fines would be required to propose a plan to utilize the land in one month, after which the amendments allow local governments to step in and auction off the property.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES