COST OF LIVING/NT$6,000 handouts registered for online to be remitted from April 6

Taipei, March 25 (CNA) People who registered online to have a one-off cash payment of NT$6,000 (US$197) from the government directly deposited into their bank account will be able to receive it starting April 6, the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) said Saturday.

Online registration for the cash handout began Wednesday and will continue through Sunday based on the last digit of the ID number or permanent residency certificate number of those eligible to receive it.

Beyond Sunday, online registration will be open to anybody who is eligible, regardless of their ID or permanent residency certificate number.

Individuals who do not wish to register online can also get the money directly from select ATM machines directly using an ATM card and entering their ID and national health insurance card number starting April 10, the MODA said in a Facebook post.

Eligible recipients can also collect the money in person at post office counters by presenting their ID and national health insurance cards from April 17, the MODA said.

The deadline for claiming the cash handout through any of the three methods will be Oct. 31, the MODA said.

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Of note, only a minority of foreign nationals who live, work and file taxes in Taiwan -- those with permanent residency or who reside in Taiwan and whose spouses are Taiwanese nationals -- are eligible for the NT$6,000 payout.

The majority of foreign nationals in Taiwan, including most overseas migrant workers, are residents but not permanent residents, and are not eligible for the payout, a policy consistent with past voucher programs pushed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).

Taiwanese families expecting children from October to December 2023, however, will also be eligible to claim the cash handouts on behalf of their newborns.

Parents can claim the NT$6,000 in person at a local post office provided they present the child's birth certificate before the end of January 2024, the MODA said.

The cash handout idea was conceived in late 2022 and early 2023 after the DPP did not perform as well as it had hoped in local government elections in November 2022.

Presented as a tax rebate, it was based on a surplus of NT$450 billion in tax receipts in 2022 compared to the budgeted estimate at the beginning of the year.

Aside from the NT$6,000 payout, some of the funds will go to offset some of the losses of government agencies and the state-run utility Taiwan Power Co., and some will finance programs for businesses to spur economic activity.

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