The Legislature’s Finance Committee confirmed Wednesday that if they can complete final reviews for the passage of the special budget by October 17, the universal cash handout of NT$10,000 (US$310) per citizen will be distributed by November 17.

Citing tax over-collection in 2024, the KMT originally proposed the cash disbursement as a manner of “returning taxes to the people.” Consequently, the Legislature passed an amendment to the Special Statute on Strengthening the Resilience of the Economy in late August to legitimize the handout. 

According to Finance Minister Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲), the handouts will be available within the month after the central government’s special budget is passed. Similar to the NT$6,000 (US$200) disbursements in 2023, any citizen with a household registration in Taiwan, non-residents with residence permits, foreigners with permanent residence permits, spouses of Taiwanese nationals, and government personnel stationed abroad will be able to obtain the handouts.

Chuang said their preliminary estimates indicate that 4.25 million households will need to receive the handout via direct deposit. She emphasized that the relevant administrative procedures are already underway.