Finance ministry to announce tax lottery winners

The winners of a lottery for taxpayers, including foreign nationals, who filed last year’s individual income tax returns using a mobile device are to be announced at 4pm today, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.

Prizes include cash awards of up to NT$50,000 and electronic vouchers worth NT$200 or NT$500; winners must claim them by Nov. 25, the ministry said.

The winners are to be announced on the ministry’s Facebook page and the Web sites of regional taxation bureaus.

People file taxes next to a sign informing people about how to file on their mobile phones in Taipei on May 4.

Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times

According to the National Taxation Bureau, 2.89 million individual income tax returns were filed using mobile devices this year, an increase of more than 290,000, or 11.15 percent, from the previous year.

Among more than 2.64 million eligible households, 19,586 are to receive prizes, including 86 cash prizes and 19,500 digital coupon prizes, the bureau said.

The cash prizes consist of one NT$50,000 top prize, five NT$20,000 prizes, 10 NT$10,000 prizes, 20 NT$5,000 prizes and 50 NT$2,000 prizes.

The digital prizes include 3,000 NT$500 electronic vouchers and 16,500 NT$200 electronic vouchers.

Cash prize winners would be notified by registered mail, and the prize money is to be deposited directly into their designated bank accounts, the bureau said.

Winners of electronic coupons are to receive a text message with the sender ID “111,” indicating that the message is an official government message.

The message would be sent to phone numbers registered with the tax filing system and would include a link to the ministry’s Web site with instructions on how to redeem the prize, it added.

Under tax regulations, cash prizes exceeding NT$20,000 are subject to a 10 percent withholding tax, which would be deducted automatically.

The bureau said it would never notify winners by phone or ask them to use an ATM to claim their prizes.

It also would never require winners to pay taxes in advance and urged people to remain vigilant against lottery scams.