NEW TAIPEI (TVBS News) — New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) expressed optimism on Wednesday (Feb. 25) about creating welfare policies that resonate with the public amid rising living costs. His remarks come as the Ministry of Finance (MOF, 財政部) recently announced a record-breaking tax surplus of NT$528.3 billion for the previous year, sparking debates on distributing cash to citizens.
The Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) legislative caucus has urged the government to distribute NT$10,000 cash to every citizen. The National Policy Foundation (國政基金會), KMT's think tank, released a poll on Tuesday supporting this proposal. The poll indicated that 66.3% of respondents favor redistributing the surplus. Notably, support among those aged 30-39 reached 91%, while 40-49-year-olds showed 77.2% backing.
Meanwhile, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) addressed the Legislative Yuan (立法院) on Tuesday, advocating for the use of special budgets to meet citizens' needs without fixed allocations, ensuring governmental financial flexibility.
