TAIWAN

Cabinet Approves Stock Income Tax Plan: The Finance Ministry proposal to reimpose a tax on stock income is now ready for the legislature, where it could still be revised, analysts said. Under the plan, individuals who sell more than $568,500 worth of stock a year would pay a new 0.6% tax collected at the time of a sale. The final tax assessment would be calculated at the end of the year based on stock earnings and income tax rates, according to Joe Kao, vice president of Jardine Fleming Taiwan Securities. Institutional investors, who normally invest in relatively large amounts of shares, would pay a 0.3% tax at the time of sale and would be subject to income tax after stock profit is determined, Kao said. The Cabinet wants to put the plan into effect July 1.