More than 90 percent of Taiwanese want to receive cash rather than “quintuple stimulus vouchers” proposed by the Executive Yuan, a survey by the Consumers’ Foundation showed yesterday.
The Executive Yuan is planning to issue another round of stimulus vouchers worth NT$5,000 to encourage domestic consumption in the wake of the recent COVID-19 outbreak.
It on Thursday touted four advantages of issuing “quintuple stimulus vouchers” instead of cash, saying that the expiration date on the vouchers would mean that people would have to spend them quickly and, hence, stimulate the economy.
Photo: Wu Chi-lun, Taipei Times
Rather than using cash for one-time payments such as taxes and fines, business owners could also use the vouchers they have received, creating a consumption cycle, it said.
Vouchers could also be more beneficial, as many businesses and local governments would offer discounts or incentives encouraging consumers to spend them, it said, adding that by requiring people to pay NT$1,000 in advance they would be less likely to waste the money.
The Executive Yuan is scheduled to further discuss the proposed voucher plan with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus today.
The foundation said its online questionnaire found that 90.2 percent of respondents would prefer cash, while only 9.8 percent were in favor of “quintuple stimulus vouchers.”
Their reasons for choosing cash include hoping the government would “provide relief first, then stimulate the economy,” consider the administrative costs of issuing vouchers a waste of money, consider cash more environmentally friendly, or prefer cash because it can be saved or used to pay for tuition or other purposes, it said.
Foundation chairman Terry Huang (黃怡騰) said the foundation originally planned to conduct the survey from Thursday last week through tomorrow, but more than 20,000 people had already responded by Saturday, so it decided to publicize the poll results ahead of the Executive Yuan’s meeting with the DPP caucus today.
Foundation secretary-general Hsu Tse-yu (徐則鈺) said the survey showed that the vast majority of people would prefer cash, so the government should listen to the public and give out cash as soon as possible to help people who suffered economically during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The “quintuple stimulus vouchers” not only cost money to print, but also limit trading partners, as they involve tax reporting and other procedures, said Lu Hsin-chang (盧信昌), a professor at National Taiwan University’s Department of International Business.
They are also less convenient than cash for residents in remote areas, Lu added.
When the government issued the Triple Stimulus Vouchers last year, business owners needed to go through complicated procedures such as stamping the vouchers and bank reconciliation, he said, adding that extended transaction periods when using vouchers also increase the risk of disease transmission.
Huang said the survey result showed “the people’s complaints,” and urged the government to deal with the people’s grievances.
The budget for economic stimulus policies comes from taxpayer money, so its should be used to best solve the challenges people are facing, he said.
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