President Tsai Ing-wen (???) pledged in her New Year’s address Sunday to ease people’s financial burdens through subsidies and tax breaks as the pace of global economic growth shows signs of slowing down.
The government also plans to do more to boost the local economy and facilitate smart and sustainable industrial transformations amid global challenges such as the Russia-Ukraine war, inflation, the rise of authoritarian regimes, and food and energy crises, she said.
One initiative, she said, would be for the government to make housing more affordable by providing more diverse housing options and expanding the scope of subsidies for people paying rent or mortgages.
It will also propose monthly passes for public transportation tailored to commuters so they can travel across cities or counties using discounted fares, according to the president.
On price stabilization, Tsai said the government will continue to ease commodity taxes, and keep fuel and electricity prices low.
In addition, she said, the government is planning to attract 6 million foreign visitor arrivals — about half of the pre-COVID level — in 2023 by working with local travel agencies to promote Taiwan as a desirable destination in overseas markets.
In her address, Tsai also announced a wide range of subsidies to build a resilient economy and secure Taiwan’s competitive advantages in the information technology and semiconductor industries.
She also reiterated plans on how the government planned to use the tax revenues collected in 2022 that exceeded central government budget projections.
The government plans to spend NT$100 billion (US$3.26 billion) of about NT$380 billion in surplus tax revenues on projects to bolster economic resilience and another NT$100 billion to ease the financial burdens of Taiwan’s health and labor insurance systems.
Acknowledging that some people hoped the government would return some of the surplus tax revenues back to the public in lump-sum payments, Tsai said that was not the priority at the moment and that it was more important to help those in need and to save some of the funds for contingencies.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel