Taipei: The Taipei City government has defended its stringent penalties against ticket scalping, asserting that any markup added to tickets during resale is illegal and subject to heavy fines. This comes in response to concerns raised by Taipei City Councilor Tseng Hsien-ying regarding the awareness of scalping laws among the public.
According to Focus Taiwan, the city has justified its approach following Tseng's social media post, which highlighted instances of significant fines and questioned the public's awareness of existing scalping laws. Last year, an individual who resold a single Jay Chou concert ticket at a higher price faced a fine of NT$244,000 (US$8,066), amounting to 50 times the ticket's face value of NT$4,880. In another case, a person selling two tickets to a Post Malone concert overseas, with an added value of "two cups of Starbucks coffee," faced a fine of NT$46,000, or 10 times the combined face value of the tickets.
Tseng pointed out that 36 individuals fined for scalping this year have appealed their penalties, indicating a lack of awareness among some Taipei residents regarding the laws governing ticket resales. To address this, Tseng suggested that the city should intensify efforts to educate the public on the topic, especially before major concerts.
In a statement released later, the Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs emphasized its commitment to raising awareness through social media and other platforms to discourage purchasing from ticket scalpers. The department clarified that under the Development of the Cultural and Creative Industries Act, local authorities can impose fines ranging from 10 to 50 times the face value of the tickets, depending on the number of tickets sold.
The department further stated that even if tickets are advertised with a markup but not sold, or if the markup is in the form of an additional item, such as a beverage, it is still illegal. They added that individuals who believe they have been unfairly fined have the right to appeal.
As of Wednesday, Taipei City has issued a total of 147 fines to ticket scalpers this year, amounting to NT$34.7 million, with the highest individual fine recorded at NT$2.64 million, according to the department.