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.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS