Any tax surplus would first be used to repay debt, then would go toward special budgets for public services, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said on Tuesday when asked whether this year’s surplus would again be dispersed as a universal cash payout.
Chen made the comments at a legislative hearing at which Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) asked about plans for the tax surplus.
Ministry of Finance data show that total tax revenues surpassed the estimated budget of NT$300 billion (US$9.44 billion) for the year, continuing an increasing trend seen over President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) eight years in office, she said.
Photo: Liao Chen-hui, Taipei Times
Wang therefore proposed a bill that would require a tax rebate directly returned to citizens whenever the surplus exceeds NT$300 billion.
The surplus from last year is NT$386 billion, the third-highest in history, according to ministry data.
However, the year before the surplus reached NT$500 billion, making it possible to issue a NT$6,000 rebate to citizens and permanent residents, Chen said.
Any surplus from this year would first go toward repaying debts as “repaying the principal is very important,” Chen said.
After that, the government would consider which special budgets need additional funding, such as the Labor Insurance Fund, Taiwan Power Co and National Health Insurance, he said.
Chen agreed that budgeting should be more precise, but the past few years have seen unprecedented disruptions to the global supply chain and a relatively strong domestic economy.
This resulted in an unusually large surplus for 2022, enabling the cash payout, he said, adding that putting money into public services is equivalent to giving it to the public.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
RSS