TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Government officials on Thursday (Jan. 5) said that NT$6,000 cash tax surplus payments announced the previous day will likely be issued at the end of February, but whether foreign residents will be included is still under consideration.
On Wednesday (Jan. 4), Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said that NT$140 billion (US$4.24 billion) in surplus tax revenue will be distributed to the public in the form of NT$6,000 cash payments per person. Su said the funds would be disbursed to share in Taiwan's "economic achievements."
Each person was set to receive NT$6,000 as a "Lunar New Year blessing." However, the timeframe appears to be overly optimistic, and no mention was made of the potential eligibility of foreign residents.
When pressed by the media over the timing of the cash payments at a press conference on Thursday, Cabinet spokesperson Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said that Su is determining whether new legislation is necessary. Furthermore, it will need to be approved by the Legislative Yuan before a special budget can be prepared and sent back to the legislature for approval.
Lo said that it is too late for all the administrative work to be completed before the Lunar New Year holiday begins. He said the Cabinet has stepped up planning, has experience distributing cash from previous pandemic stimulus packages, and it is relatively simple to transfer the funds directly to people's accounts.
As to whether foreigners will be included, Lo said that when the Cabinet launched the Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers, some qualified foreigners could also receive them, such as the foreign spouses of Taiwanese nationals who hold Alien Resident Certificates (ARCs) or Alien Permanent Resident Certificates (APRCs), or those who hold diplomatic identification cards. However, Lo said the purpose of the stimulus vouchers is different from the tax surplus rebate, and whether it is extended to foreigners is still under "policy evaluation."
Lo acknowledged that there had been "voices and opinions from the outside world" on the subject. He pledged that if there is a decision on including foreigners in the payment scheme, an explanation will be provided.
A source from the Cabinet told CNA that a legal basis for the tax surplus payment plan could be passed by the Cabinet as soon as next week and sent to the Legislative Yuan. The source said that there are hopes the Legislative Yuan will review and pass the bill through the third reading as soon as possible after reporting for the next session on Feb. 1.
The source said that if the process goes smoothly, people who fill in their account information online first will see cash credited to their account as soon as the end of February.
