The government is working on the details of a voucher program for in-store purchases to revive consumer spending amid the COVID-19 pandemic, National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday.
The preliminary plan would allow anyone, regardless of age or income, to pay NT$1,000 to obtain NT$3,000 worth of vouchers to spend at stores, buy train tickets or pay taxi fares, Kung said in a radio interview with Hit FM radio host Clara Chou (周玉蔻).
The council is also considering allowing the public to use the vouchers at local night markets when the program is launched in July, said Kung, who took office on Wednesday.
Photo: CNA
However, he did not specify whether the vouchers would be limited to Republic of China citizens or available to all residents of Taiwan.
The government is also mulling offering the vouchers at a discounted price to people from low-income and disadvantaged groups, who might not be able to afford to pay NT$1,000, he added.
Details of the program would be announced soon, but the general idea is to make the vouchers easily and widely accessible, Kung said, confirming a report published yesterday by the Chinese-language Commercial Times.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) has instructed government agencies to make the vouchers available free of cost to people from underprivileged groups and mid-to-low-income households, Executive Yuan spokesman Ting Yi-ming (丁怡銘) said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs last week said that the vouchers would be issued in paper and electronic form, and would be launched in time for the summer vacation, which is to begin on July 15.
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