WASTEFUL: Wu Ping-jui said the KMT proposal would have given even high-income earners a subsidy, which would have affected people who need money the most
Taipei Times
Date: Apr 22, 2020
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter
An eyeglasses store in Taipei attracts business by holding a sale yesterday. Due to the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the legislature has passed the third reading of an amendment to add NT$150 billion to the relief budget.
Photo: CNA
The new limit represents a NT$150 billion increase to the budget’s ceiling, NT$60 billion, passed last month by the Legislative Yuan, and the amended act is to serve as the legal basis for a matching budget increase proposed this month by the Executive Yuan for its expanded economic stimulus package.
Depending on the development of the pandemic, a second special budget may be planned, but its amount must not exceed the current one, the amendment says.The planning and spending of the accompanying special budget, for which the Executive Yuan is soon to submit a request, would not be bound by limitations in the Budget Act (預算法), it says, meaning that funds allocated to one agency can be redistributed to another. [FULL STORY]
