The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday assured bed and breakfast (B&B) owners and taxi drivers that they can accept Triple Stimulus Vouchers, and exchange them for cash or use them to make purchases.
As of 9pm yesterday, nearly 1.6 million voucher packets had been claimed at post offices nationwide since they were made available on Wednesday, Chunghwa Post statistics showed.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has said that business owners could start exchanging vouchers for cash on Thursday next week.
Photo: CNA
Businesses with government uniform invoice numbers can exchange vouchers for cash at banks and save it in accounts by filling out a document and providing tax and business registration numbers, it said.
Businesses without a uniform invoice number can ask qualified business associations or workers’ unions to exchange the vouchers on their behalf, the ministry said.
The same principle applies to bed and breakfast owners and taxi drivers, it said.
Bed and breakfast owners who do not have a uniform invoice number can ask local accommodation associations to help them cash the vouchers, the ministry said.
“The Tourism Bureau has asked associations not to charge bed and breakfast owners any processing fees for helping them exchange the vouchers, whether or not they are members of the associations. They should be willing to do it to help the industry,” it said.
Taxi drivers who work for taxi companies or are part of a fleet can ask the companies or fleet operators to cash the vouchers for them, the ministry said, adding that self-employed taxi drivers can do so with a taxi drivers’ union.
Taxi drivers’ unions have all indicated that they are willing to comply with the government policy of cashing the vouchers on behalf of drivers, it said.
“We also respect the rules that they set to distribute the cash they receive to the taxi drivers, given staff shortages and the processing time required by financial institutions,” the ministry said.
Aside from cashing the vouchers, bed and breakfast owners and taxi drivers can use the vouchers to pay for daily expenses, including fuel or food to serve in restaurants.
In other news, people who have acquired the Triple Stimulus Vouchers could consider spending them at the annual Taipei Summer Travel Expo, which starts today and ends on Monday next week.
The organizer said that representatives from 20 county and city governments and 200 travel business operators are to attend this year’s expo. They are to showcase their products in 500 booths at the Taipei World Trade Center’s Exhibition Hall 1.
In addition to discounts offered by travel businesses, visitors spending at least NT$1,000 in vouchers to book tours would qualify for a drawing, with prizes ranging from waiving the entire cost of a purchased tour, to cash or coupons for dinner at five-star hotels, the organizer said.
Between today and Sunday, the first 200 visitors entering the expo would each receive a red envelope, with coupons to dine at five-star hotels.
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