The most significant of the changes will lower corporate income taxes from 25 percent to 20 percent and lower tax burdens for individual taxpayers in two different ways.

The new measures will also obligate Taiwanese nationals to pay a minimum 20 percent income tax on specific categories of income earned overseas, and income from investment-linked insurance policies will become taxable.

Individual taxpayers will benefit from "double cuts" - the downward adjustment of tax rates and the raising of the lowest level of taxable income for each tax bracket.

The tax rates of 6 percent, 13 percent, and 21 percent will be cut by one percentage point to 5 percent, 12 percent and 20 percent, respectively, while the highest marginal tax rates of 30 percent and 40 percent will remain intact.

The lowest tax rate of 5 percent will be paid on taxable income up to NT$500,000, up from the previous NT$410,000.

The 12 percent tax bracket will cover taxable income between NT$500,000 and NT$1.13 million, up from NT$1.09 million in 2009, and the 20 percent tax bracket will be applied to taxable income up to NT$2.26 million instead of the NT$2.18 million ceiling for 2009 income.

Though the highest marginal rates will not be adjusted, they will also be applied to higher levels of taxable income. The 30 percent tax bracket will cover income from NT$2.26 million to NT$4.23 million, up from NT$4.09 million, and the 40 percent marginal tax rate will be applied to income above NT$4.23 million.

Taxpayers filing their 2009 income tax returns this year will also get some breaks through higher exemptions and deductions.