The government is planning to give out cash to all citizens using a portion of the surplus national tax revenue, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday, provided that the policy has a legal basis and is approved by the legislature.
Su made the remarks during a visit to Chunghwa Post’s Taipei Mail Processing Center yesterday morning.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also confirmed the announcement yesterday evening, despite saying in her New Year’s Day address that the government “would consider sharing excess tax revenue with all citizens only when it is within our fiscal capacity to do so.”
Photo: CNA
The nation last year collected a surplus of NT$450 billion (US$14.66 billion) in national tax revenue, of which NT$70 billion is designated to be used to fund local governments, Su said.
The president on Sunday said that the remaining surplus would mainly be used for three different purposes, he said.
First, NT$100 billion is to be allocated to electricity price subsidies and closing the financial gap in the Labor Insurance and National Health Insurance funds, Su said.
Another NT$100 billion is to be used to fund a series of government initiatives to bolster the nation’s economic resilience, Su said, adding that the remaining NT$180 billion would be shared with the public after a portion of the fund is reserved to cover emergency expenses.
“We are planning to give cash to people within a certain quota. However, to implement such a policy, we must have a legal basis and propose a budget, which must be approved by the legislature,” Su said.
Cabinet officials on Monday began planning how the surplus tax revenue could be shared among the public, he said.
“We want people across the nation to share the fruits of economic growth, but we must also set aside a portion of the surplus to enable us to cope with global challenges brought by rising COVID-19 cases in China and inflation caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine. We cannot give it all away,” he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Cultural and Communications Committee director Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said that the Executive Yuan should announce details of the policy this week and ensure that each person receives the cash before the Lunar New Year holiday, which begins on Jan. 20.
The government should also launch a comprehensive review of the tax system after the holiday, he said.
Hung questioned Su’s motive for announcing the policy yesterday, after many people were disappointed by Tsai’s remarks on Sunday.
“Did he thoroughly consider the policy before announcing it to the public, or was he simply throwing out ideas after experiencing too much pressure from politicians and the public?” Hung asked.
KMT caucus whip Tseng Ming-chung (曾銘宗) also said it would be “best” for the government to issue the cash payment before the Lunar New Year holiday.
To achieve that goal, the legislature should hold a provisional session after the regular one ends on Friday next week to discuss the matter, he told a news conference.
In response, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said that even if lawmakers approved a bill in a provisional session, it would be unlikely that the payments could be made ahead of the holiday.
Additional reporting by CNA
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