http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2009/11/26/234215/Minister-Lee.htm

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Lawmakers yesterday called for the Ministry of Finance to tax “hot money,” but Finance Minister Lee Shu-der said the govenrment can hardly work quickly enough to use taxation means to prevent the influx of hot money. 

At the finance committee meeting held to screen revisions to the Tax Imposition Act, Lawmaker Lai Shyi-bao of the ruling Kuomintang said that the government can move to tax speculative investment gains earned by owners of hot money, such as done in Brazil or Russia. 

In response, Minister Lee noted that it would be more effective for the central bank to prevent the influx of hot money via foreign exchange regulations. 

Lawmaker Lai also urged the government to study the feasibility of imposing luxury tax on grand, luxurious houses. 

Lee responded by saying that if taxing luxurious houses will push up the cost of buying such houses, it would be acceptable to most people. 

Meanwhile, the finance committee of the legislature yesterday completed its first reading of some revisions to the Tax Imposition Act, stipulating that the government should set clear-cut expiration date for any future tax incentives to be implemented. 

Among the revisions is the stipulation that confessions collected by taxation officers from taxpayers via improper means can't serve as evidence for imposing taxes or fines on the taxpayers. 

But lawmakers failed to pass a revised article that requires taxpayers who fail to pay fines to be subject to further fines on the overdue payment of the original fines.