President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday announced a wide range of subsidies to build a resilient economy and secure Taiwan’s advantage in the information technology and semiconductor industries.
Taiwan must retain its key role in the global supply chain, maintain its industries’ competitiveness and support the economy’s continued stability, she said after a meeting with senior officials on the economy.
The government plans to spend NT$100 billion (US$3.26 billion) of about NT$380 billion in surplus tax revenue raised last year on projects to bolster economic resilience, National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Another NT$100 billion would be invested in the National Health Insurance system and be used to cover Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower, 台電) costs related to energy subsidies, he said.
Taipower lost NT$220.4 billion in the first 11 months of last year with costs and expenses exceeding revenues by 36 percent, its latest condensed income statement showed.
The government would also find ways to redistribute the remaining NT$180 billion to the public, which could include cash or stimulus vouchers, he said.
Photo: CNA
Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said the surplus was created by conservative government budgeting and the economy performing well during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Presidential Office said that the government would pursue amendments to the Equalization of Land Rights Act (平均地權條例) to build social housing, expand rental subsidies, implement housing loan subsidies, simplify and hasten urban renewal, and prevent land speculation.
The government would also implement transportation subsidies in the Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan area; the Taichung, and Chunghua and Nantou counties region; and the Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County area, it said.
It would also work with local governments in Hualien, Kinmen, Lienchiang, Penghu and Taitung counties on improving transportation for residents and tourism, it said.
It plans to encourage more mass public transportation to help achieve the government’s 2050 net zero emissions goal, it said.
Starting this year, the government would increase subsidies for long-term healthcare facilities servicing people with Category 4 disabilities, including with the expansion of meal services and setting up a system to sell goods at fixed rates to people from economically disadvantaged households.
The government would also offer loans, interest subsidies and support for the fundamental restructuring of Taiwan’s small and medium-sized enterprises amid a global economic slowdown, the Presidential Office said.
The subsidies are designed to help them achieve automation and modularization, and lower their carbon emissions, it said.
In agriculture, the government plans to improve infrastructure, such as by modernizing equipment and upgrading facilities, while increasing subsidies focused on the environment, such as insurance payouts to mitigate the environmental impacts of projects, it said.
The government also seeks to attract up to 6 million international tourists this year, it said.
It would offer subsidies for cruises and charter flights, businesses abroad that encourage employees to travel to Taiwan for leisure, students seeking to study in Taiwan and travel agencies that promote tourism packages focused on foreign travelers to Taiwan
The government would maintain subsidies for gas and electricity, extend decreased tariffs for commodities into March and step up investigations into monopolization, hoarding and other activities that drive up prices, it said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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