Professor Hsin Ping-lung from National Taiwan University's Graduate Institute of National Development once said in an interview: "Taiwan's booming entrepreneurship culture reveals young people's considerable pessimism toward the workplace."
According to a study by a professor from City University of Hong Kong surveying over 1,000 students from six universities in Hong Kong and Taiwan, about 66% of Taiwanese university graduates want to start businesses—nearly 7 out of 10—whereas in Hong Kong, it's only about 42%, roughly 20% lower than Taiwan.
Why are Taiwanese young people so different? This can be explored through three economic environmental factors: taxes, prices, and salaries.
According to Hong Kong media reports, Hong Kong university graduates' starting salary is 1.4k HKD, equivalent to approximately 52k TWD. Taiwan's minimum standard, needless to say, is 22k TWD—a difference of 30,000 TWD!
Next comes the tax aspect. According to the "2016 Tax Environment Report," which surveyed 189 economic systems, Hong Kong's tax environment ranks among the world's best. Hong Kong's tax advantages lie in having only three types of direct taxes and a tax exemption system that further reduces the tax burden.
- Corporate profits tax maximum rate: 16.5%
- Personal salaries tax maximum rate: 15%
- Property tax rate: 15%
The following tax categories are entirely exempt, which is another advantage of Hong Kong's tax system:
- Sales tax / Consumption tax / Value-added tax
- Withholding tax
- Capital gains tax
- Dividend tax
Taiwan's tax system is jokingly described as "the Republic of China has countless taxes." Direct taxes alone include comprehensive income tax, business income tax, securities transaction tax, futures transaction tax, estate and gift tax, house tax, and land value increment tax... With so many types of taxes, for working-class people, May tax season becomes another struggle for breath...
（Image / National Tax Collection Net Revenue / Source）
Regarding prices, Taiwan is significantly lower than Hong Kong—this is the only advantage among the three factors. Beyond differences in social resources, the same study points out that half of Hong Kong's fresh graduates prefer to work as police officers, civil servants, or in the financial sector, because the benefits and salaries are generous. In contrast, Taiwan's high taxes, low salaries, and low prices make people reluctant to work in corporations, whereas Hong Kong is the complete opposite. This also creates an atmosphere in Taiwan where people want to turn things around through entrepreneurship.
Many Taiwanese young people have lost confidence in the workplace. Additionally, Taiwan's large corporations often have entrenched organizational structures with a culture of "valuing seniority over talent," which makes fresh graduates feel confused and anxious about entering society. This anxiety breeds pessimistic thoughts like "Am I not good enough?" and "Why doesn't anyone recognize my talents?" As a result, entrepreneurship often represents to them a way to "realize self-worth and embody personal ideals."
Tamkang University professor Chen Yi-wen also once stated: "The more people desire to start businesses, the more dissatisfied they are with the current economic situation." With Taiwan's sluggish economy, long-standing low wages, and long working hours, young people under 35 entering the workforce during a wage stagnation period have lost hope in traditional employment and thus "treat entrepreneurship as a safe harbor." Regardless of success rates and sustainability, or whether young entrepreneurs adequately assess risks before diving in rashly, if they maintain this mindset without showcasing their talents, isn't that a waste?
Of course, beyond pessimism, there are also differences between Hong Kong and Taiwan governments and industries in their support for entrepreneurship. According to HiGH.5 founders and partners who are Hong Kong entrepreneurs in Taiwan, Hong Kong's financing units don't necessarily oppose entrepreneurship, but they only support "finance"-related business ventures. If your startup doesn't fall into this category, it's easily rejected. In contrast, Taiwan sees all kinds of business models and types sprouting up like mushrooms after rain. Just this difference alone is remarkable, and it shows Taiwan's society is quite free and open—so much so that even Hong Kong people specifically come to Taiwan to start businesses!
However, entrepreneurship carries certain risks. Funding, human resources, whether your business model meets market demands, whether you've found like-minded people, and most importantly, your determination, are all things that must be carefully evaluated before starting a business. Once you decide to proceed, you must commit to seeing it through and make your journey worthwhile!
【Original Report】
