The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed on first reading the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) proposals to distribute NT$10,000 each to taxpayers and to raise military pay, and sent the proposals to the legislative committees for further review.
Ministry of Finance records showed that the government collected record-high tax revenues of NT$3.76 trillion (US$114.52 billion) last year, exceeding its budget projections by NT$528.3 billion, the KMT said.
Meanwhile, inflation last year rose 2.18 percent for a third straight year, exceeding the government’s target of 2 percent, the KMT said, citing Directorate-General of Statistics, Budgeting and Accounting (DGBAS) data.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The consumer price index rose another 2.66 percent in January, signifying continued increasing pricing pressure, the party said.
The government’s revenue is generated by taxes levied from the people, and the revenue surplus should be shared with the people, the KMT said.
The Executive Yuan, headed by then-premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), in 2022 approved a plan to refund NT$6,000 to taxpayers, it said.
In light of that precedent and as the government has the financial wherewithal, the party has proposed a special tax refund act to distribute NT$10,000 each to taxpayers this year, the KMT said.
The tax refund would be drawn from a special budget, funded by surplus revenue from the previous fiscal year, which should not be limited by Article 23 of the Budget Act (預算法), the draft act states.
The legislation would also only be valid until the end of this year, unless the Legislative Yuan agrees to extend it, the draft says.
The DGBAS has said that the tax surplus should be used to repay national debts or saved for future expenses, such as disaster or pandemic relief, adding that tax refunds should not become a regular thing.
Separately, the KMT proposed amendments that would match the wages of those serving their mandatory military service with the minimum wage, increase payouts for volunteer forces from NT$10,000 to NT$30,000, and increase payouts for combat-duty troops and for overtime.
The amendments would affect the Pay Act of the Armed Forces (軍人待遇條例), the Act of Insurance for Military Personnel (軍人保險條例) and the Veterans’ Assistance Act (國軍退除役官兵輔導條例).
Additional reporting by CNA
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
RSS