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Updated Saturday, April 24, 2010 11:10 am TWN, By David Antoniuk, Kueishan Village, Taoyuan County Government for the rich by the richThen, last week-out of the blue-the government announces a huge reduction of corporate business tax from 25% to 17%. Tax revenues for the previous year are in during March. Aside from this fact, there was no prior explanation, much less any public discussion, of this big change. According to the report in The China Post, the DPP “asked” the KMT to carry out this massive cut. Seemingly, then-all the island's legislators support this move. But was the general public advised or consulted about this big decision ahead of time? At the end of last week came another government proposal to de-link the minimum wage paid to foreign laborers from the wage that must be paid to local workers. Again-no discussion of the right of workers to maintain any standard at all. How about the whopping NT$22,000 offered by corporations for recent college graduate “interns?” So generous! Meanwhile, housing prices are racing far above the reach of the average citizen. Must everyone be forced to rent their house from the few wealthy enough to buy and own them? Who is the government for? Those super-rich shareholders who never do a bit of real work, or the vast majority of ordinary, but poorly-paid Taiwanese people? Judging by the behavior of the government here, and in other Asian nations, I would think that we all know that there aren't any average, poor people among the ruling elites. Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here |
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