Taiwan to Distribute NT$10,000 per Citizen as AI Industry Boom Pays Off

Sharing the Fruits of the AI Industry Boom
"Payout Expected Before Lunar New Year"

The Taiwanese government has decided to share a portion of its surplus tax revenues, generated by the recent boom in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, with its citizens. Early next year, every citizen will receive NT$10,000 (approximately 440,000 won) per person.

According to reports from the China Times and other outlets on August 19, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te announced the plan after receiving a briefing on the 2027 central government budget proposal. He explained that, due to rising global demand for AI, high-performance computing (HPC), and cloud services, the economy has grown significantly, and the government will share the benefits by providing the so-called "AI bonus" of NT$10,000 per person.

Lai Ching-te, Taiwanese President. Yonhap News Agency

According to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics of Taiwan, the country’s GDP growth rate this year is estimated to reach 11.05%, the highest in 39 years. President Lai emphasized that this growth is the result of the efforts of all Taiwanese people. He also added that the government is not only looking at average figures, but also paying attention to those citizens below the average.

The budget for next year stands at NT$3.9 trillion (approx. 170.469 trillion won), an increase of NT$235.7 billion (about 10.4 trillion won) compared to this year. The Taiwanese government stated that the budget was formulated based on the principle of keeping revenue and expenditure balanced, and as such, a fiscal deficit is not expected to occur.

A Taiwanese government official told local media, including the China Times, "If the central government budget bill for next year passes before the end of the year, the AI bonus can be distributed before the Lunar New Year holidays in February." The official stressed that, unlike past cash distributions made in response to economic downturns, the purpose this time is to share the achievements of economic growth with the public.

To date, there have been five confirmed instances where the Taiwanese government has provided coupons or cash to boost consumption.

These include consumption coupons distributed in the late 2000s to overcome the financial crisis; consumption coupons of NT$3,000 (about 130,000 won) in 2020 and NT$5,000 (around 220,000 won) in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic; NT$6,000 (approximately 260,000 won) in 2023 for economic stimulus at the tail end of the pandemic; and NT$10,000 (about 438,000 won) last year in response to U.S. reciprocal tariffs.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.