The new luxury tax bill draft, which mainly aims to curb real estate speculation, has been approved by the Executive Yuan this week and will next be submitted for legislative review, which means it could be put into effect starting July First at the earliest.

Under the Executive Yuan's new luxury tax bill, real estate investors that purchase and sell properties within a two-year period will be subject to a special 10% to 15% tax.

The bill will also impose a 10% sales tax on furniture, furs and other "luxury" products valued at more than 500,000 NT and cars worth more than 3 million NT.

Included in the draft are room for administrative discretion and a clause that exempts those that transfer properties "reasonably, normally, or involuntarily" from the tax.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the bill will not include a sunset clause, take into account local property value standards or whether a transaction was profitable, or have minimum sale price thresholds.

Sellers will be required to report taxable transactions within 30 days, and those that fail to do so will be subject to fines triple the amount of the tax.

Tax revenues will be used for social welfare and assistance programs, and the government hopes that the bill will help stabilize property prices and regulate relevant transactions.

Pending a Legislative Yuan review, the bill could go into effect in July.