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Cabinet separates vouchers, loan

The Cabinet decided last night to separate its consumer voucher scheme from its proposal to take out a loan to increase investment in public works.

Cabinet Spokeswoman Vanessa Shih (史亞平) told a press conference at the Government Information Office that the Presidential Office, the Cabinet and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus had agreed unanimously during a late-night meeting yesterday to “keep matters simple.”

Shih said the decision was made “to help people have a good Lunar New Year by issuing the NT$3,600 vouchers to them before the New Year holiday.”

The Cabinet had previously hoped to see the two schemes clear the legislative floor together, but the plan was opposed by the Democratic Progressive Party caucus and a number of KMT legislators, including KMT Legislator Wu Ching-chih (吳清池).

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) had also said that pushing through the two schemes together in the legislature could prove complicated.

Given the time needed for the legislature to review and pass related legislation, the Cabinet would propose two different special bills to legitimize both the voucher and the public construction schemes during its extraordinary meeting scheduled for today, Shih said.

The change of plan came after a late-night meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄), Wang, KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) and KMT caucus secretary-general Chang Sho-wen (張碩文).

Liu announced on Tuesday the Cabinet’s plan to issue NT$3,600 in consumer vouchers to every citizen.

By taking out loans totaling NT$82.9 billion (US$2.5 billion), the government is hoping to boost economic growth by 0.64 percent next year.

The Cabinet issued a press release late on Wednesday after a meeting between Ma and Liu, announcing that the Cabinet would also request NT$400 billion to be used for public works projects when it submits the budget proposal for the vouchers to the legislature.

In a bid to legitimize the policies, the Cabinet has to write a special item of legislation for the voucher program before requesting a special budget, as borrowing the funds conflicts with Article 23 of the Budget Law (預算法), which states that funds raised by loans must be used in capital investments, as well as Article 4 of the Public Debt Act (公共債務法), which places a ceiling on government debt.

FOREIGN SPOUSES

Meanwhile, Vice Minister of the Interior Chien Tai-lang (簡太郎) said the government would also issue the vouchers to Chinese spouses who stay in Taiwan as dependents or who have been granted long-term residency.

Foreign spouses with Alien Resident Certificates or permanent residency will also receive the vouchers, Chien said.

About 150,000 Chinese and foreign spouses are expected to enjoy the benefit, he said, adding that this would require an additional NT$550 million.

ADITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
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