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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Ministries unveil details of special budgetary plans
An aerial view of Taipei is pictured on Saturday. Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Reuters
ARTS, CULTURE BOOST: ‘Coming-of-age’ vouchers for people aged 18 to 21 would be distributed starting on June 6 and are to be worth 1,200 ‘points’
By Chung Li-hua and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writer
Registration for one-off mortgage subsidies would open in June for disbursal in the middle of July, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday, as other agencies also announced timelines for special budgetary programs and subsidies.
The policies are part of a special budget passed on Friday by the Legislative Yuan to distribute NT$379.9 billion （US$12.51 billion） in surplus tax revenue from last year.
Low and middle-income households are to be given a NT$30,000 subsidy to go toward their existing mortgage, the ministry told a news conference at the Executive Yuan.
To qualify, a household’s total income for 2021 must have been less than NT$1.2 million, and it must be the recipient’s only home.
The original loan must be less than NT$8.5 million in Taipei or NT$7 million in other regions.
The policy is expected to benefit 550,000 households nationwide, the ministry said, reiterating that it is for people who already have mortgages, not for prospective homebuyers or those with luxury homes.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications meanwhile announced that sales of monthly public transportation passes are to begin in July.
Separate passes are to cover 20 cities and counties nationwide. A single monthly pass is to cover the northern region of Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan, while local and intercity passes would be offered for the central and southern regions.
The central area includes Taichung, and Changhua, Nantou and Miaoli counties, while the southern region includes Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County.
Passes can be purchased online, and at MRT and Taiwan Railways Administration stations.
Another handout planned by the transportation ministry for international tourists is to be distributed beginning in May, it said.
A total of 500,000 independent travelers would have the chance to win NT$5,000 vouchers.
Tour groups that coordinate with local travel agencies would be given NT$5,000 to NT$50,000 depending on the size of the group and the number of days they are visiting, with 90,000 tour groups expected to benefit.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture said that “coming-of-age” vouchers for people aged 18 to 21 would be distributed starting on June 6.
The vouchers worth 1,200 “points” would be given to people born between Sept. 1, 2001, and Dec. 31, 2005.
They can be used to view performances and locally produced films, buy books from bookstores, go to museums, buy craft items, attend community events or take part in other cultural activities.
The vouchers would be given to nearly 1 million people, injecting an estimated NT$7 billion into the arts and culture industries, the culture ministry said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
