TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Cabinet approved the plan to pay each Taiwanese a NT$6,000 (US$195) surplus tax rebate at its regular weekly meeting Thursday (Jan. 12), paving the way for the money to be distributed by the end of February.
The project, confirmed by Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) last week, required legislative amendments, which have now been approved by the Cabinet and will be passed on to the Legislative Yuan for review.
Taiwan reported NT$450 billion extra in tax revenue last year, with NT$70 billion to be passed on to local governments and a maximum of NT$380 million to be used under the amended legislation, UDN reported.
Under the National Development Council (NDC) proposal passed Thursday, NT$100 billion will be spent to make up for shortages in the labor insurance and health insurance programs and to pay for fuel subsidies. Another NT$100 billion will be devoted to programs making Taiwan’s economy more resilient in the face of global inflation and other challenges.
The government will set NT$40 billion aside for emergencies and use the remaining NT$140 billion to “share with the public,” as top officials described the NT$6,000 tax rebate program. The cash payments and subsidies were not subject to income tax.
While opposition lawmakers clamored for the payments to be disbursed before the Jan. 20-30 Lunar New Year holiday, the government said that late February was a more realistic timeframe.