The government could help offset the economic impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East by passing a special relief budget of about NT$130 billion (US$4.09 billion), Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) Minister Chen Shu-tzu (陳淑姿) said today.
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee invited agencies to report on the medium to long-term impacts of the Middle East conflict on energy, prices, livelihoods, medical supplies and markets.
It also requested a review of the implementation of special budgets to strengthen economic, social and national resilience in response to wider international challenges.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城) said that the government previously reacted to the fallout of US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies with the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例).
The NT$570 billion relief budget included universal cash handouts of NT$10,000, plus funds to support industry.
As the conflict in the Middle East has impacted various sectors and industries across Taiwan, ministries have rolled out support measures including tax reductions, price freezes and subsidies, all of which require funding, Lee said.
While the existing special act includes NT$25.3 billion in reserved flexible funds, they cannot cover these expenses without amendments to the act and additional budgeting, Chen said.
Current budgets are far from sufficient, constrained by the fact that this year’s central government budget has yet to be passed, Chen added.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才) asked whether it would be possible to allocate an NT$10,000-per-person fuel subsidy.
As with the previous NT$10,000 cash handout, it would require about NT$236 billion and could boost GDP by 0.415 percent, Chen said.
However, the government’s current approach is to first freeze oil prices to avoid generating additional fiscal expenditures, she added.
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