Business groups accused of using trusts to avoid taxesBy Chen Cheng-yu and Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter, with staff writerTwo legislators yesterday accused five business groups of using charitable trusts to avoid taxes, spending less than 1 percent of their trust assets on charity work. From 1996 to 2020, 258 charitable trusts, with a market value of more than NT$120 billion (US$4.07 billion), were approved under the Trust Act (信託法), Kao said. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kao Chia-yu, center, New Power Party Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih, right ,and independent journalist Yao Hui-chen, left, speak to reporters at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liu Hsin-te, Taipei TimesTen trusts set up by the five groups accounted for 80 percent of the market value, at NT$99.68 billion, she added. “Charitable trusts should do charity work,” Chiu said, adding that charitable trusts should be supervised by a single competent authority instead of different agencies, and a minimum amount of donation should be required.
