To promote anti-corruption values and enhance ongoing communication between the public and private sectors, highlighting the importance of enterprise integrity and legal compliance awareness, the National Taxation Bureau of Taipei, Ministry of Finance held the 2023 Enterprise Integrity Forum on August 9, 2023. This forum focused on profit-seeking enterprises and controlled foreign corporation (CFC) for individuals, aligning with international trends and preservation of tax fairness. The Ministry of Justice was also invited to participate, which brought together more than 230 representatives, including those from certified public accountant associations, certified public bookkeeper associations, intermediaries, and businesses within its jurisdiction.

The forum kicked off with opening remarks from Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang and Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun. It was then followed by featured presentations on topics related to “International Transparency and Fair Taxation - Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC) System” by Director-General Sung Hsiu-ling of the Taxation Administration of the Ministry of Finance, and “Exploring Business Integrity and Sustainable Business Operations from the Perspective of Operational Risks” by Vice Chairman Yeh Yi-chang of Transparency International Taiwan.

During his address, Minister Tsai pointed out that Transparency International released its “Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)” for 2022 on January 31, 2023, in which Taiwan was ranked 25th globally, surpassing 86% of the countries and regions assessed. Additionally, Taiwan achieved laudable results in other rankings such as the “Bribery Risk Matrix” and the “Government Defense Integrity Index (GDI).” These achievements reflect the international recognition of Taiwan’s recent anti-corruption performance, which is attributed to the collaborative efforts from various government agencies and the private sector. Furthermore, although Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, the country still adheres to the requirements of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and facilitates public-private cooperation in anti-corruption actions. President Tsai previously stressed that “the quality of the business investment environment is closely correlated to a nation’s integrity.” Therefore, in line with the President’s guidance, the Ministry of Justice is supervising the Agency Against Corruption (AAC) to actively promote forums and activities related to enterprise integrity and legal compliance in collaboration with competent authorities. The United Nations Convention against Corruption emphasizes that the private sector is an essential component of anti-corruption efforts. It encourages the private sector to establish ethical and integrity standards, avoid conflicts of interest, and enhance transparency. The Ministry of Justice and its affiliated agencies are actively assisting various government agencies in educating and raising awareness within the private sector, strengthening private sector governance. This approach aims to create a clean and competent investment environment, contributing to the positive evaluation of Taiwan regarding its level of integrity.

In her speech, Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun noted that in line with international anti-tax evasion trends, the Ministry of Finance has implemented the Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC) system for profit-seeking enterprises. This system encourages businesses to comply with Taiwan’s legal tax requirements. However, the effective implementation of this system requires joint and concerted efforts from the public sector, businesses, and intermediary entities to establish a fair and just fiscal system to maintain the integrity of Taiwan’s tax base. Furthermore, Minister Chuang emphasized that integrity values should be incorporated into transparency, and the Ministry of Finance will continue its efforts to promote transparency policies to foster a competitiveness and high quality environment and achieving the goal of practicing integrity governance together for both businesses and the government.

Following this, a comprehensive panel discussion was moderated by Director-General Sung Hsiu-ling of the Taxation Administration of the Ministry of Finance. Panelists of this panel discussion included Deputy Director-General Shen Feng-liang of the AAC, Director Wu Lian-ying of the National Taxation Bureau of Taipei, Vice Chairman Yeh Yi-chang of Transparency International Taiwan, and Chairman Fu Wen-fang of the Taipei City CPA Association. They engaged in a cross-sector dialogue on topics related to transparency, integrity, and anti-tax evasion. Deputy Director-General Shen Feng-liang of the AAC shared insights during the discussion on the topic of “The Relationship between Tax Integrity and Transparency and Government Integrity.”

This event showcased the strength of combined efforts from industry, government, and academia, demonstrating achievements in establishing partnerships between the public and private sectors, aiming to consolidate efforts and consensus. In the future, the AAC will continue to collaborate with competent authorities through cross-domain cooperation to jointly promote integrity and ethics work, ultimately contributing to the sustainable development of both the nation and enterprises.