TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Legislator Wu Szu-yao (吳思瑤) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨) on Thursday (Feb. 13) criticized the opposition Kuomintang's (KMT, 國民黨) proposal to distribute cash to all citizens, calling it populist and damaging to fiscal discipline. The KMT caucus had advocated for a NT$10,000 cash distribution, citing a record-breaking national tax revenue in 2024 that exceeded the budget by NT$528.3 billion.
Wu highlighted that the NT$528.3 billion figure requires a deduction of NT$72.4 billion for statutory expenditures, including long-term care, housing funds, and health welfare contributions. More importantly, Wu noted that NT$80.2 billion in excess local revenue should be subtracted, leaving NT$375.7 billion attributable to the central government.
Wu emphasized that surplus tax revenue should prioritize debt repayment by law, with the government exceeding its 5% statutory debt repayment by NT$20.8 billion in 2024. From 2017 to 2023, Wu said the government repaid NT$858.8 billion in debt and reduced borrowing for public infrastructure by NT$936.2 billion using surplus tax revenue. This year, the government used surplus tax revenues to expand childcare allowances, social welfare spending, national defense construction, and salary increases for military, civil, and educational personnel.
Wu stated that these funds aim to share the economic development dividends with all citizens, pending final budget confirmation.
