Taxation
1.Executive Yuan Approved Draft Amendments to Estate and Gift Tax Act
On 30 July 2026, the Executive Yuan approved the draft amendments to the “Estate and Gift Tax Act” proposed by the Ministry of Finance. The amendments are primarily intended to reflect the Constitutional Court Judgment No. 11 of 2024 and recognize spouses’ contributions to the accumulation of marital property. We summarize below:
(1) To amend the scope of estate tax taxpayers and the tax liability for property gifted within two years before the decedent’s death by removing the executor of a will from the scope of estate tax taxpayers and specifying that the taxpayers shall be, in order, the heirs and legatees, and then the estate administrator, with their tax liability limited to the decedent’s estate. In addition, where the decedent gifted property to certain relatives within two years before death, each recipient shall be liable for the portion of estate tax calculated based on the proportion of the property received by such recipient to the total value of the estate, with such liability limited to the property received.
(2) To add rules on the calculation and payment of the deduction for a surviving spouse’s claim for distribution of the remainder of marital property. When calculating the deductible amount of such claim, any property gifted by the decedent to the spouse within two years before the decedent’s death shall be deemed part of the decedent’s existing property. The taxpayer shall actually transfer property equal to the amount of the claim under Article 1030-1 of the Civil Code to the decedent’s spouse, and the property previously gifted to the spouse may not be used by the taxpayer to satisfy such payment obligation.
(3) To add rules specifying the starting dates of the estate tax filing period and the tax assessment period for property that is determined, only after the decedent’s death, to have belonged to the decedent by a court judgment or a document having the same effect as a final and binding judgment.
(4) To amend the requirements for applying for installment payments and payment in kind, as well as the interest rate benchmark applicable to installment payments. The amendments also add rules on the restarting of the tax collection period where an extension or installment payment has been approved under the Act but the taxpayer fails to make payment when due and the remaining tax is assessed in a lump sum, and allow heirs to decide by majority vote to use deposits forming part of the estate to pay estate tax.
Reported by: Paul Hsu / Maggie Tsai
Taxation
2.Draft Amendments to Securities Transaction Tax Act
On 6 August 2026, the Ministry of Finance announced the draft amendments to Article 2-1 of the “Securities Transaction Tax Act”, which propose to extend the exemption period of securities transaction tax for passive bond ETF certificates by 10 years, include active bond ETF certificates within the scope of exemption, and delete provisions regarding investment target restrictions.
Reported by: Paul Hsu / Sean Tsai
Securities
3.FSC Announced the Draft Business Regulations on SITEs and SICEs Providing Administrative Services to Foreign Asset Management Institutions
On 3 August 2026, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced the draft of “Types of Business Approved by the Competent Authority Pursuant to Subparagraph 3, Paragraph 3, Article 3 and Subparagraph 3, Paragraph 3, Article 4 of the Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Act” (Draft Regulations). The Draft Regulations aim to clarify the business scope for Securities Investment Trust Enterprises (SITEs) and Securities Investment Consulting Enterprises (SICEs) providing administrative services to domestic legal entities under the mandate of foreign asset management institutions, while specifying and adjusting the relevant approval and reporting procedures:
(1) Clarification of Eligible Entities and Service Scope:
Explicitly specifies that dedicated SITEs and SICEs (excluding concurrent operators) may accept mandates from foreign asset management institutions to provide services to domestic legal entities. Furthermore, the services are concretely categorized into four areas: bidding agency and administrative services for foreign asset management institutions participating in tenders in Taiwan, investment detail inquiries and inquiries on related matters, facilitating liaison between foreign asset management institutions and domestic legal entities, and assistance in the transmission of other opinions and related administrative matters.
(2) Specification of Required Application Documents:
Explicitly requires that when applying to conduct the aforementioned business, applicants must submit profile documents of both the mandating foreign asset management institution and the recipient domestic legal entities to the FSC for approval.
(3) Adjustment to Approval Procedures:
Where the recipient domestic legal entity is a professional institutional investor, FSC approval is required for the initial engagement, and any subsequent changes to the approved matters do not require re-approval; if the recipient is a non-professional institutional investor, approval must still be obtained on a case-by-case basis.
(4) Adjustment to Reporting Procedures:
Compared with the letter dated February 26, 2020 (2020 Letter)—which required immediate reporting to the Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Association (SITCA) upon adding services for other professional institutional investors, the Draft Regulations require operators to report relevant data in accordance with SITCA rules by the 10th business day of each month upon obtaining approval to conduct the aforementioned business or whenever there are changes to the approved matters.
(5) Transitional Provisions for Existing Operators:
Operators that have obtained FSC approval to conduct the aforementioned business prior to the effective date of the Draft Regulations are not required to reapply for approval, but must continue to comply with the approval and reporting procedures set forth in the Draft Regulations.
Reported by: Jeffrey Liu / Emilie Chang
Financials
4.Amendment to Regulations Governing Joint Marketing Activities Among Subsidiaries of a Financial Holding Company
On 7 August 2026, the FSC announced the amendment to the “Regulations Governing Joint Marketing Activities Among Subsidiaries of a Financial Holding Company”, together with a new ruling replacing the 2025 ruling. We summarize below:
(1) The scope of joint marketing is expanded by allowing insurance trusts to be jointly marketed not only by insurance subsidiaries of a financial holding company, but also by its other subsidiaries, and by including elder care trusts as trust products eligible for joint marketing;
(2) In line with the inclusion of elder care trusts as eligible trust products for joint marketing, personnel engaged solely in the joint marketing of a single trust product will no longer be subject to the education and training requirements generally applicable to trust business personnel; and
(3) To implement the foregoing amendments, the FSC has issued a new ruling setting out the conditions that financial institutions shall satisfy when applying to provide services relating to insurance trusts and elder care trusts.
Reported by: Stacy Lo / Zoe Chen
| Editors: Mike Lu (Partner) Stacy Lo (Partner) Jeffrey Liu (Partner) Kang-Shen Liu (Partner) David Tsai (Partner) Angela Lin (Partner) Paul Hsu (Partner) Alex Li (Partner) | Counselors: Echo Yeh Sue Su Jolene Wang (Lexcel Partners IP Firm) |
