Regarding the implementation of luxury tax, a public hearing was held at the Legislative Yuan to collect opinions on this matter, and to further discuss on the goods that should be levied with luxury tax.

However, civil groups said that the policy does not meet their expectations, with some legislators believing that the regulation has little effect in curbing the expensive housing prices.

Will the luxury tax be implemented as scheduled?

The Legislative Yuan's Finance Committee held a public meeting. Disadvantaged groups believe that the luxury tax does not meet the community expectations, and some believe that there have been deliberate cuts.

Some legislators worry that if the government does not undertake a full assessment, and rushes to implement the tax they may not be able to solve the problem of high real estate prices in metropolitan areas.

The government's plan to introduce a luxury tax that was to be implemented in July has triggered lots of public attention.

At a public hearing, legislators said that the government rushed the luxury tax to answer social critics and did not carry out a thorough examination of effects.

They said that even if housing prices in Taipei drop 20%, many can still not afford to purchase a house.

Representatives of disadvantaged groups say that the draft plan includes furs, coral, sea turtle and other wildlife conservation products, but does not include high-priced jewelry, watches, and antiques.

They say this plan fails to meet expectations, and pre-sale home taxes are deliberately excluded.

The luxury tax exclusion for pre-sale homes is because the Ministry of Finance believes that these properties are not real estate and therefore excluded.

However, the Ministry of Finance stressed that the activity of investors and transfer of properties is now being investigated.

In addition, the jewelry industry says that mainland Chinese tourists coming to Taiwan to purchase coral is an important part of tourist spending.

Once the tax goes into effect, it will affect 30% of business.

The Ministry of Finance emphasized that the focus of the luxury tax is on protection, as a more detailed discussion will need to be carried out by the Council of Agriculture.