The Taipei City Government is making a comprehensive evaluation of its finances, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday after a city councilor wrote online that the city had surplus tax revenue from the past eight years.
Chiang said that any extra money would probably be used to push forward the city’s policies.
Taipei City Councilor Miao Po-ya (苗博雅) of the Social Democratic Party on Friday wrote on Facebook that the city government under former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) had accrued surplus revenue of about NT$21 billion (US$683.77 million) from local taxes.
Photo: CNA
Miao linked the financial issue in Taipei to a similar situation the central government faces.
Legislators from across party lines have called on the central government to “return surplus tax revenue to the public” and Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on Wednesday announced a plan to give each Taiwanese a one-off cash payment of NT$6,000 from surplus tax revenue raised last year.
Miao asked if the city government would also give each city resident a one-off cash payment of NT$8,500, as Ko’s Taiwan People’s Party and Chiang’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) have insisted that the nationwide surplus should be “returned to the people.”
The city government is making an inventory of its tax revenue and would explain the issue clearly when the evaluation is completed, Chiang said on the sidelines of an event to distribute spring couplets.
However, the revenue should be used to implement important policies, such as reducing the financial burden for young city residents or pushing forward social welfare policies, he said.
He did not elaborate when asked if the city would consider cash payments similar to what the central government is planning.
Turning to other matters, Chiang said that as the Dihua Street Lunar New Year market in Taipei’s Datong District (大同) would have stalls offering food samples again this year, the city government advises people to avoid eating while walking and to maintain social distance to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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