A personal tax exemption card for Taiwanese foreign mission personnel in the US is now being issued directly by the US Department of State, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said on Monday, confirming media reports.
Local media earlier on Monday reported that Taiwanese foreign mission personnel in the US had received new personal tax exemption cards in the past few months, with the issuing authority changed from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) to the department.
A photograph published by a Taiwanese media firm showed that the “office” field in the card was renamed “mission,” while “Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States” previously in that field was replaced with “Taiwan.”
Ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement that the new format represented “internal adjustments” by the US, and the ministry respected the changes and had no further comment on them.
Taiwan-US relations have been steadily improving, and the US government views Taiwan as one of its closest security and economic partners, as well as a “force for good” in the world, Ou said.
“MOFA is glad to see the US Department of State further deepening Taiwan-US relations in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act and the Agreement on Privileges, Exemptions and Immunities between the two sides in 2013,” she said.
Diplomatic tax exemption cards labeled as personal tax exemptions are used by eligible foreign mission members and their dependents to obtain exemptions from sales and other taxes on personal purchases in the US, the department’s Web site says.
A retired ministry official who was posted in the US said the card for Taiwanese personnel in the US was originally issued by the department through the AIT, adding that the changes in the card’s issuing authority can be interpreted as the US’ recognition of Taiwanese foreign service personnel as quasi-diplomats, despite the lack of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Another ministry official said that while the change was a welcome development, tax exemption privileges remain the same and Taiwanese foreign service personnel in the US are still issued E-1 visas, not A-1 visas.
An E-1 visa allows a national of a treaty country to be admitted to the US to engage in international trade, while an A-1 visa is issued to diplomatic personnel.
https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2021/06/02/2003758467
