A senior tax official in central Taiwan has been jailed pending investigation over claims he helped selected taxpayers dodge taxes, a blow to trust in the tax agency just as he was about to retire.

• Investigators ran six rounds of searches and seized over ten million NT dollars in cash and gift vouchers.
• The official, surnamed Wang, was the third-ranking figure at the Central Region tax bureau and handled income, inheritance and gift tax cases.
• Two accountants were also ordered held, pointing to a network that funneled cases his way.
• The timing matters: the raids came days before his retirement, which the bureau has now cancelled along with suspending him.
• Tax reviews leave wide room for personal judgment, which is exactly where the alleged favors were done.

Outlook: Prosecutors are tracing the money to prove bribery, and the bureau says it will move to fire him if charges follow.