TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's Cabinet on Monday (Aug. 16) announced that the NT$5,000 (US$179) in stimulus vouchers slated to be released to the public in October will be free of charge.

Last year, the government issued “Triple Stimulus Vouchers” (振興三倍券) to provide a boost to the economy, with members of the public receiving NT$3,000 in vouchers. However, people were required to pay a controversial cash fee of NT$1,000 to obtain the booklet of vouchers, essentially meaning that they were only actually receiving a stipend of NT$2,000.

When the Cabinet began planning to release a beefed-up NT$5,000 in “Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers” (振興五倍券) to help businesses recover from a soft lockdown imposed in May, it stated that again a fee of NT$1,000 would be charged. The additional cost raised hackles among the public, particularly the disadvantaged who would struggle to afford the NT$1,000 surcharge.

The Cabinet initially planned to make a list of 10 million disadvantaged and lower-income people who would be exempt from the fee. However, after meeting with 45 Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers on Monday, the Cabinet decided to do away with the fee altogether, said Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) that day.

The dropping of the fee is expected to cost the government an additional NT$20 billion, but there are remaining funds in a special budget of NT$160 million, of which NT$110 million had been originally allotted to the vouchers.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said on Monday that the vouchers will be released in early October, reported CNA. However, he could not yet give a timeline for how long the vouchers would be valid.

Kuomintang legislators have been arguing for a direct cash payment to the public, rather than paper vouchers. The Cabinet's response is that citizens may just save the cash instead of spending it on local businesses.