The government might issue vouchers to redistribute this year’s surplus tax revenue, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday following a call from lawmakers.
Lawmakers on the legislature’s Finance Committee asked Acting Minister of Finance Frank Juan (阮清華) about the possibility of redistributing surplus tax revenue.
Juan said a redistribution scheme would have to undergo legislative review, so it would be easier to issue vouchers similar to the stimulus vouchers issued to encourage consumer spending during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo: CNA
Although tax revenue exceeded the general budget planned for this year, it fell into a deficit when special budgets were taken into consideration, he added.
As such, redistributing the surplus could increase the government’s debt burden and should be carefully deliberated, he said.
Juan promised to bring the issue to the Executive Yuan and discuss it with government agencies.
Separately, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) and Michelle Lin (林楚茵) from the party’s Taiwan Forward faction proposed at a news conference ways to return the surplus tax revenue to the public.
Tax revenue in the first 11 months of this year exceeded NT$3 trillion (US$97.69 billion) for the first time, and by the end of the year might exceed the planned budget by NT$450 billion, they said.
The government should return the surplus to the public in cash or voucher form before the Lunar New Year holiday next month, they said.
It should also provide debt relief to 840,000 students in Taiwan and offer further economic relief packages to traditional industries, which were affected the most by COVID-19, they said.
Although Taiwan’s overall economic situation has ostensibly been good during the pandemic, that might only be the case for specific industries such as semiconductors and technology, Wang said.
Traditional industries, including service providers, caterers and food markets, have been struggling, he added.
Many people have complained to Vice President William Lai (賴清德) at local forums that the government’s economic relief packages came with too many limitations and inconveniences, Chao said.
The tax surplus mainly came from corporate income taxes, Lin said, adding that large companies performed well during the pandemic and their factories managed to deliver products on time.
However, the food industry, and small and medium-sized enterprises have been negatively affected by the pandemic, she said.
Former New Taipei City councilor Ho Po-wen (何博文) and former Hsinchu City councilor Lee Yen-hui (李妍慧) of the DPP urged the government to share the surplus with the public so that people can enjoy the Lunar New Year.
Later yesterday, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would convene a national security meeting to discuss the issue based on the economic conditions at home and abroad.
The Executive Yuan would make an announcement as soon as a concrete policy is formulated, he added.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
POLLS CONCERNS: There are concerns within the KMT that a Cheng Li-wun-Xi Jinping meeting could trigger a voter backlash in elections in November Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to visit next month, her party and Chinese state media reported yesterday. Cheng, who took up her role in November last year, “gladly accepted” the invitation to lead a delegation to China, the KMT said in a statement, confirming a Xinhua news agency report. Cheng “looks forward to joint efforts by both parties to advance the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, promote cross-strait exchanges and cooperation, and work for peace in the Taiwan Strait and greater well-being for people on both sides,” the statement said. Chinese
SIGNIFICANT TO THE WORLD: The delegation’s visit aims to send a clear message that bipartisan support for Taiwan is consistent, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen said The US Senate’s bipartisan support for Taiwan remains strong and Taiwan-US ties would continue for decades to come, a US Senate delegation said in Taipei yesterday, while calling on the legislature to swiftly pass a special defense budget bill. A US delegation led by Democratic US Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican US Senator John Curtis — both members of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations — arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a two-day visit. The other senators of the delegation included Senate Taiwan Caucus cochair Thom Tillis and Senate Committee on Armed Services senior member Jacky Rosen. Shaheen told a news
RSS