Taiwan's rich-poor gap widens 'alarmingly'
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-10-15 21:03
HONG KONG -- Poorly designed tax policies and rising unemployment have
worsened the rich-poor gap in Taiwan, according to media reports reaching here
Sunday from Taipei.
The gap between the rich and poor people has reached
an alarming level in Taiwan in 2005, with the richest 720,000 households earning
35 times more than the poorest 720,000 households in the province, local media
reported, quoting latest official statistics.
The richest 720,000
households in Taiwan had an average annual earning of 2.1 million new Taiwan
dollars (US$64,024) in 2005, while the poorest 720,000 households' annual income
reaching 58,000 new Taiwan dollars (US$1,768) the same year, leaving a gap of
36-1 between the rich and poor, according to the media reports.
The
richest's 2.1 million new Taiwan dollars in 2005 represented an increase of
40,000 new Taiwan dollars from the previous year, while the poorest's 58,000 new
Taiwan dollars posted a decline 3,000 new Taiwan dollars from a year earlier,
the report said.
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