The committee is actively seeking tax reform measures, with the committee meeting regularly to discuss proposals raised by its members.

At a recent meeting, members reached a consensus that the inheritance tax exemption amount should be raised by NT$4.21 million to NT$12 million from the current NT$7.79 million per person.

If the Inheritance Tax Act is revised to legalize the proposal, then those whose net legacy value is under NT$4.21 million currently won't be subject to any inheritance tax, thus most benefiting members of the middle class.

A tax scholar said at the meeting that of 34 countries surveyed, 16 see an inheritance tax rate that falls under 30 percent; 15 above 30 percent, and 3 at 30 percent.

Accordingly, the scholar proposed that Taiwan's inheritance tax be cut to 30 percent from the existing 50 percent.

But Chang Ping-chao, chairman of the ROC Chamber of Commerce, opined that he can accept the rate cut to 15 percent, while Lawmaker Huang Wei-tzer of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party asserted the rate should be halved to 25 percent, and Lawmaker Liao Cheng-ching of the ruling Kuomintang insisted that the rate should be lowered to within the range of 10 to 20 percent.

Accordingly, the inheritance tax rate may be finally cut to the range of 10 to 30 percent, from 50 percent.