In order to actively clear tax arrears, the IRS will assess and assume real estate that cannot be auctioned.

The Taipei National Taxation Bureau of the Ministry of Finance stated that in order to protect national treasury tax revenue and maintain fairness and justice, even if the real estate of the taxpayer cannot be sold after being transferred for execution auction, the real estate can still be evaluated by the tax authorities and used to pay the unpaid taxes in accordance with the law to protect the tax debt collection.

The bureau explained that if a taxpayer fails to pay taxes on time and his property is transferred to the Administrative Enforcement Branch for compulsory execution, and if the real estate is auctioned and no one bids for it after the second price reduction or the highest price offered by the bidder does not reach the auction minimum price and the auction cannot be completed, the National Tax Bureau will take over the real estate in accordance with the "Guidelines for National Tax Collection Agencies to Take Over Real Estate that Cannot Be Auctioned by Branches of the Administrative Enforcement Agency of the Ministry of Justice" to pay the overdue taxes.

The bureau gave an example in which Mr. A owed more than 100 million yuan in inheritance tax. After being transferred to the Administrative Execution Branch for compulsory execution, the movable property in the estate was still insufficient to pay off the tax arrears, so land worth more than 80 million yuan in his estate was auctioned off. After several auctions, no one was willing to buy it. Because the execution period will expire at the end of 2016, if the arrears are cancelled after the execution period, it will no longer be executable. The real estate should be cancelled, sealed and returned to Mr. A. This has caused the unfair phenomenon that the taxpayer owes taxes but still retains the real estate, which is detrimental to the tax creditor's rights. After evaluation, it was found that there was still practical benefit in accepting this case, so the acceptance mechanism was activated in accordance with the law, and more than 70 million yuan of unpaid taxes were collected.

The bureau calls on taxpayers to pay taxes on time in accordance with the law and not to take chances. If taxes are owed and the case is transferred for compulsory execution, the real estate will be seized and auctioned. For real estate that cannot be auctioned, the IRS also actively handles assessments and acceptances in response to society's expectations for fair tax burdens.

(Contact person: Chief Cai of the Collection and Information Division; Tel: 02-2311-3711 ext. 2180)