TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The new “Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers” will come with 10 checks including at least one worth NT$1,000 (US$36) but without restrictions based on recipients’ wealth or income, the government said Thursday (Aug. 5).

Last year, the government issued “Triple Stimulus Vouchers” to kickstart the economy, allowing members of the public to receive NT$3,000 each in exchange for a payment of NT$1,000. Following the recent surge of local COVID-19 cases, the authorities are preparing a similar program, with each set of checks totaling NT$5,000.

Following criticism by lawmakers about the cost of the program, Cabinet Spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said on Thursday that spending on the new checks will not markedly exceed last year’s costs, CNA reported. The printing budget for the “Triple Stimulus Vouchers” amounts to NT$700 million, while the costs related to exchanging the checks have totaled NT$2 billion.

Lo rebuffed the claim by an opposition lawmaker that this year’s budget will reach NT$13.6 billion. The Kuomintang (KMT) party has argued in favor of handing out cash, but the government insisted that checks will be more effective at helping businesses recover from the impact of COVID. Citizens might just pocket the cash instead of spending it, the government said.

The timeline for launching the voucher program has not yet been decided, as the coupons will be more beneficial after the local outbreak has completely faded, Lo said. Taiwan registered six local COVID cases on Thursday, the lowest number since early May.