The Executive Yuan yesterday pushed back on a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) proposal to distribute a NT$10,000 (US$304.31) universal cash payment in lieu of reconciling a debate over the general budget.
The Ministry of Finance on Monday revised the tax revenue for last year to NT$3.7619 trillion, exceeding the budget by a record NT$528 billion.
KMT lawmakers called for a universal cash payment of NT$10,000 to every taxpayer.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) yesterday thanked the public on behalf of the government for the hard work that led to the budget surplus.
With regards to the KMT proposal, Lee said that the final tax revenue figure has yet to be calculated by the National Audit Office and that before moving forward, it is necessary for the Legislative Yuan and Executive Yuan to resolve their debate over the central government’s budget.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) is in communication with Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) in hopes of resolving the budget issues, Lee added.
The Legislative Yuan has amended the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法), reallocating NT$375.3 billion — or 28 percent of the annual government budget — to local governments.
The NT$528 billion surplus also includes a NT$80.2 billion surplus from local government budgets, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
The government would use the tax revenue to prioritize reducing its debt, increasing debt repayments and maintaining fiscal discipline, the Ministry of Finance said.
Any surplus funds could be used to help finance the future, it added.
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee previously passed a resolution that required at least 5 percent of tax revenue exceeding the central budget to be earmarked for debt repayment.
This would increase the total repayment figure for last year by NT$20 billion to NT$135.8 billion.
Additionally, the government did not use NT$157.1 billion in debt financing available to it.
KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) yesterday told a news conference that a NT$10,000 cash rebate for each taxpayer would not even cost NT$230 billion, less than half of the surplus.
Tax revenue should be shared by all through investments in social welfare, national defense and economic development, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) told a separate news conference.
The KMT’s proposal would not improve people’s lives and it is an attempt to pander to voters to avoid the consequences of its unpopular actions, Wu said.
If the KMT wants to return tax revenue to the public, “why not start with KMT-led local governments that reported a surplus?” she asked.
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
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