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
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