Over the past few months, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party legislators have often asserted that the government has overtaxed citizens, and that they would “return the money to the people” through universal cash handouts. As an academic who researches public finance and government budgeting, I believe the universal cash handouts are neither legal nor logical.
Such a move would likely impose a heavy burden on the National Treasury Administration. If the handouts are written into law, they could be detrimental to the long-term health of the nation’s finances.
First, a tax surplus, what the opposition has framed as “overtaxation,” simply means that the tax revenue collected in a given year exceeded the government’s expectations; it does not mean that the government imposed excess taxes or collected more money from taxpayers than it should have.
The opposition’s notion that the money must be “returned to the people” is entirely unfounded and, naturally, fails to provide a legitimate justification for universal cash handouts.
Second, Article 70 of the Constitution stipulates that the Legislative Yuan “shall not make proposals for an increase in the expenditures in the budgetary bill presented by the Executive Yuan.” In proposing that the government distribute universal cash handouts, legislators are already overstepping their legal authority and contravening the Constitution.
More importantly, the central government had an outstanding debt exceeding NT$5.8 trillion (US$198.6 billion) as of July 4. Even if tax revenue temporarily exceeded the government’s expectations, the funds should be used to pay down the national debt, strengthen the social safety net or support important government functions such as education, national defense and long-term care.
Only when a government is free of its debt burden and has a fiscal surplus — as is the case with the local governments of Chiayi City, and Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties — is it appropriate to consider sharing economic gains through universal cash handouts.
Even if the goal is to stimulate the economy, that could be achieved with the distribution of limited time-use consumption coupons and should only be considered during a severe economic downturn. Cash handouts are not only limited in their effectiveness, but might also pose a heavy financial burden.
If legislators force through universal cash handouts without any comprehensive planning or legal basis, the move — while attractive on the surface — could crowd out other government expenditures and lead to the misallocation of fiscal resources.
Liao Wei-jie is an assistant professor of public management at the City University of New York John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
Elbridge Colby, America’s Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, is the most influential voice on defense strategy in the Second Trump Administration. For insight into his thinking, one could do no better than read his thoughts on the defense of Taiwan which he gathered in a book he wrote in 2021. The Strategy of Denial, is his contemplation of China’s rising hegemony in Asia and on how to deter China from invading Taiwan. Allowing China to absorb Taiwan, he wrote, would open the entire Indo-Pacific region to Chinese preeminence and result in a power transition that would place America’s prosperity
A few weeks ago in Kaohsiung, tech mogul turned political pundit Robert Tsao (曹興誠) joined Western Washington University professor Chen Shih-fen (陳時奮) for a public forum in support of Taiwan’s recall campaign. Kaohsiung, already the most Taiwanese independence-minded city in Taiwan, was not in need of a recall. So Chen took a different approach: He made the case that unification with China would be too expensive to work. The argument was unusual. Most of the time, we hear that Taiwan should remain free out of respect for democracy and self-determination, but cost? That is not part of the usual script, and
All 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安), formerly of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), survived recall elections against them on Saturday, in a massive loss to the unprecedented mass recall movement, as well as to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that backed it. The outcome has surprised many, as most analysts expected that at least a few legislators would be ousted. Over the past few months, dedicated and passionate civic groups gathered more than 1 million signatures to recall KMT lawmakers, an extraordinary achievement that many believed would be enough to remove at
Behind the gloating, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) must be letting out a big sigh of relief. Its powerful party machine saved the day, but it took that much effort just to survive a challenge mounted by a humble group of active citizens, and in areas where the KMT is historically strong. On the other hand, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) must now realize how toxic a brand it has become to many voters. The campaigners’ amateurism is what made them feel valid and authentic, but when the DPP belatedly inserted itself into the campaign, it did more harm than good. The