The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday detailed a plan to allocate an additional NT$210 billion (US$7.55 billion) budget to the government’s COVID-19 relief fund in the wake of an escalating community spread of the coronavirus in Taiwan.
Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) told a news conference after a weekly Cabinet meeting that the budget is expected to go toward helping the hardest-hit individuals and industries, as well as providing additional loans to people in need.
For instance, a one-time subsidy of NT$10,000 to NT$30,000 is planned for individuals such as farmers, fishers, tour guides, taxi drivers and the self-employed, Kung said, adding that people with low incomes could receive NT$4,500.
Photo courtesy of the Executive Yuan
For industries suffering a significant economic impact, their employees could each receive NT$20,000 in monthly subsidies, he said.
The central bank would also offer additional loans of NT$100 billion to small and medium-sized enterprises, bringing the total to NT$400 billion, he said.
The NT$210 billion budget was on May 13 introduced under a proposed amendment to the Special Act for Prevention, Relief and Revitalization Measures for Severe Pneumonia with Novel Pathogens (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例), which is pending approval by the legislature on Monday, the last day of this legislative session.
After the amendment clears the legislature, the council’s proposal would be reviewed by the Cabinet for its approval on Thursday next week.
The budget is designed as a bailout rather than an economic boost, so there are no plans to issue stimulus vouchers, as was the case last year, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said.
However, once the COVID-19 pandemic slows down, it is possible that similar packages would again be launched, Lo added.
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