At least 7.3 million people in Taiwan will benefit from a fourth round of subsidies the government is issuing to alleviate the impact of COVID-19 restrictions, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.
The legislature is holding an extraordinary session until Friday next week to review a NT$260 billion (US$9.39 billion) relief package proposed by the Cabinet, with Su briefing lawmakers on details of the package yesterday and today.
Su said that NT$73.4 billion is for COVID-19 control measures, such as purchasing and developing vaccines and medication.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
The remaining NT$186.6 billion is to go to subsidies to individuals and businesses, Su said.
The subsidies for individuals, which will benefit an estimated 7.3 million people, include a one-time subsidy of NT$10,000 to NT$30,000 for farmers, fishers, tour guides, taxi drivers and self-employed people, among others, Su said.
Those payments began being issued on Friday last week, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Kaohsiung Education Bureau via CNA
Also included in this category is a one-time subsidy of NT$10,000 per child for families with children of elementary-school age or younger and teenage students with disabilities, which is to be rolled out on Tuesday next week, Su said.
Subsidies for businesses include one-time payments to those in industries hit hard by the pandemic, including the transportation, tourism, retail and education sectors, as well as the arts, the Cabinet has said previously.
Although the legislature has to approve the relief package, the Cabinet has already begun issuing some subsidies under the Special Act for Prevention, Relief and Revitalization Measures for Severe Pneumonia with Novel Pathogens (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例), which was promulgated last year.
The act stipulates that although legislators have to review and approve COVID-19-related spending by the Cabinet, authorities can begin funding emergency disease prevention and relief measures before the review is completed.
The government has extended the deadline for income tax filings, and paying water and electricity bills, among other measures to reduce immediate financial burdens, Su said.
Prior to his report, Su was asked by reporters what he thought of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) proposal to issue cash payments of NT$10,000 for each citizen.
Giving every one of the 23 million Taiwanese NT$10,000 would cost NT$230 billion, and as “we have limited money,” the government needs to use it carefully and on the most urgent things, Su said.
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