2027 budget with cash payouts advances to review

The central government’s proposed 2027 general budget, which includes funding for NT$10,000 (US$307.40) cash handouts, was referred to committee review in the Legislative Yuan yesterday.

The bill advanced after Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) answered lawmakers’ questions about the government’s spending plan.

The NT$3.92 trillion general budget proposal includes NT$235.7 billion for the cash handouts, which the government says will be funded entirely by higher tax revenue from growth in technology-related industries amid forecast economic growth of 11.05 percent in 2026.

Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu presides over a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times

The government has said the handouts are intended to let the public share in the benefits of economic growth driven by Taiwan’s booming high-tech sector.

Under the Executive Yuan’s proposal, eligible recipients would include citizens with household registration in Taiwan and nationals without household registration who have obtained residence permits.

Foreign nationals with permanent residence permits would also be eligible, as would spouses of Taiwanese nationals from China, Hong Kong, Macau or other countries who hold residence permits. Government personnel posted overseas and their dependents would qualify if both hold Taiwan nationality.

A competing bill backed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which would require the government to issue NT$20,000 handouts instead, was referred to committee review earlier this month. However, the bill refers only to "eligible individuals" and does not specify eligibility criteria.