Taiwan to give cash payouts to citizens in ‘New Year blessing’

Taiwan plans to give cash payouts of nearly $200 to every citizen this year, Premier Su Tseng-chang announced on Wednesday, saying the island’s economic growth will be shared by everyone.
The export-reliant economy, a global tech powerhouse for products including semiconductor chips, grew 6.45% in 2021, the fastest rate since it expanded 10.25% in 2010.
While economic growth is expected to slow in 2022 and 2023, the government has made plans to plough an extra T$380 billion ($12.4 billion) in tax revenue from last year back into the economy to help protect the island from global economic shocks, including subsidies for electricity prices and labour and health insurance.
Su said a total of T$140 billion, part of the tax revenue, would be spent as cash payouts and each citizen would get T$6,000 ($195.61).