The legislature yesterday scheduled a vote for Friday to determine whether wealthy farmers should be ineligible for a monthly state pension, a decision that will affect about 1,500 people a year.
If the amendment to the Temporary Statute Regarding the Welfare Pension of Senior Farmers (老年農民福利津貼暫行條例), initiated by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), is passed, wealthy farmers as defined by the statute would be ineligible for the pension starting in 2013.
The KMT proposal would make farmers with non-agricultural income of more than NT$500,000 (US$1,645) a year or non-farming-related property valued at more than NT$5 million ineligible for the pension payments. It is backed by the Executive Yuan.
The Council of Agriculture says the pension system, under which farmers aged 65 and over receive a NT$6,000 subsidy per month, extends to 20,000 elderly farmers every year, of whom 7.5 percent are statutorily defined as “rich” farmers.
KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said the proposal was fair because recipients of another eight subsidies provided by the government and considered “rich” under the respective regulations were not entitled to allowances.
A proposal presented by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said the pension system should remain unchanged.
DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said he failed to see why some farmers should be excluded from the pension just because they have other sources of income as it is a gesture of recognition for the years of hard work put in by elderly farmers.
KMT and DPP legislators remained deadlocked over the issue after a negotiation session was called by Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).
The legislature was expected to raise the pension from NT$6,000 to NT$7,000 starting next year after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) recently decided to drop the previously proposed NT$316 increase in the wake of criticism from across party lines.
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