If the judicial system spent 10 years and 7 months, and brought a verdict of not guilty, no tax evasion, no violation of tax collection code, but the tax authority still issues a large amount of tax payment notice to you, can you accept it?
Will you pay for an huge amount of unexpected tax payment notice even when the tax authority still refuses to answer you where the number comes from after you have asked them for more than 19,000 times?
I believe the answer is very clear and simple: “NO. Why should I pay for the Tax Authority’s mistakes?” However, if the mistakes are manipulated on purpose, it is apparently the abuse of government power. Will you fight for this unjust circumstance?
If you file a complaint in the appeal system and you win the case for 8 times, but the final verdict has no power to terminate the illegal tax payment notice at all, can you keep relying on this appealing system? Nevertheless, the verdict will go back to the tax administration for re-considering the case and re-issuing the tax payment notice again. Can you believe you may receive the notice again from the tax authority after you have won the case 3 years and 4 months later?
Wow!! What a disaster! It is too hard to believe that this kind of a corrupted system exists in the 21st century. Indeed, it is truly happening right now in Taiwan on Tai Ji Men unjust tax case. More than 10,000 Tai Ji Men family are suffering the abuse of government power and they have used every domestic remedy to correct the mistakes and illegal actions of Taxman. Now, they are forced to be dispelled because the government is planning taking away the assets and properties of Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy for auction. Tai Ji Men unjust tax case is only an iceberg of Taiwanese unfair 4 millions of tax cases.
According to Ms. Lo Shu-Lei, a Taiwanese legislator and the president of Taiwanese C.P.A. Association as well, demonstrating that Taiwan is the only country to ban the right to travel overseas for those who do not pay the overdue tax payment of NT$10,000 (approx. US$3,100). It is a serious violation of constitution and against human rights. Despite repeated advocacies from scholars and lawyers, more than 180,000 cases of deprivation of personal freedom and restrictions on overseas traveling are still outstanding. Ms. Lo also advocates for Tai Ji Men unjust tax case, saying that if the Tai Ji Men unjust tax case cannot turn into just result, there is no human rights of taxation at all in Taiwan. Since this case has gone through all domestic remedies such as Appealing system in administrative court, public hearing hosted by multi-parties legislators and the investigation of Control Yuan, all of the remedy system indicated the flaws and illegal actions by the tax authority. But still, the government officials of Ministry of Finance does not admit their mistakes and keep their illegal tax practice against Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy, a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and cultural qigong and martial arts group.
President Ma Ying-Jeou of Republic of China, signed “International Covenants on Civil Rights and Political Rights” and “International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights” on Dec. 10, 2009, illustrating his determination to follow the international standard of human rights for its people. However, in the Tai Ji Men unjust tax case, it is disappointing to see that the violation of human rights is deeply rooted in his administrative systems, and the mentality of government officials are completely out of dated.
It goes without saying that the protection of people’s property, living rights and freedom are obligations of a nation. Nearly 70 international human rights organization from 20 countries have signed a petition to call on Taiwanese government to abide the Universal Declaration of human rights proclaimed in 1948 and terminate all unjust measures to enforce its illegitimate claims on the right to property and travel bans on the Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy.　Before turning into the 100th Anniversary of Republic of China, it is a crucial time for President Ma to consider this violation of human rights issue and strongly ask his administrative officials to shoulder the responsibility and terminate unjust taxation on Tai Ji Men and create an example of justice and human rights for the people in the Republic of China.