wfn.org | TCN: Spending Vouchers Fuel Debate Among Taiwan Organizations and People

["Lydia Ma" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>Taiwan Church News

>2961 Edition

>November 24~30, 2008

Spending Vouchers Fuel Debate Among Taiwan Organizations and People

>Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong

>Written by Lydia Ma

In order to boost the Taiwanese economy, the Executive Yuan announced on  November 24 that it had passed a bill authorizing the distribution of  spending vouchers for every citizen. How spending vouchers should be  distributed has been hotly debated among political parties since the  inception of the idea.  Now, citizens and charities are discussing  whether donating the vouchers to charities should be encouraged and  tax-deductible. Overall, Taiwanese society is highly divided on the  issue of spending vouchers.

The main goal of distributing spending vouchers is to boost the economy  by stimulating consumer spending. According to the Council for Economic  Planning and Development (CEPD), these vouchers could increase next  year’s economic growth by 0.64%. Since the government's intention  is to boost consumption levels, wealthy people have not been excluded  from receiving vouchers. The estimated cost of producing vouchers is  $82.9 billion NTD, which will be paid for out of a special budget.  According to CEPD, citizens can donate the vouchers to educational,  cultural, or charitable organizations and their donations are legally  tax-deductible. The use of these vouchers is limited to purchasing goods  or services in places that issue uniform receipts.  Vendors who do not  issue uniform receipts can accept vouchers but are ineligible to redeem  them for cash at local banks. They must spend the vouchers on purchasing  other goods or services instead. Proponents of the policy hope that this  will further stimulate consumer spending.

Originally, the opposition party proposed issuing tax refunds instead of  spending vouchers. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) feels that  this policy was made too hastily and without enough consideration. It  points out that people living in rural or remote areas will have trouble  using spending vouchers. Furthermore, the cost of producing and issuing  these vouchers are too high and the process takes too long. In contrast,  tax refunds and cash subsidies would immediately relieve people’s  financial burden while supporting consumption levels.

Though it has yet to reach the national legislature for approval, the  spending voucher policy is already being scrutinized by political  parties and citizens alike. The Ma administration is encouraging  citizens to donate the money to charity and its suggestion has sparked  debates across the nation. Members of Citizen Congress Watch, which  includes Christian organizations such as Garden of Hope Foundation and  other social welfare organizations, rebuked the Ma administration for  using spending vouchers as an excuse for ignoring social responsibility.  It argued that the government should not shirk from its responsibility  to support organizations that benefit society by asking citizens to use  their spending vouchers toward these organizations. According to one  member of Citizen Congress Watch, if the government really wants to  boost the economy, it should focus instead on revamping manufacturing  companies, creating more job opportunities, investing in vocational  training and reforming the tax system. The spending voucher is a blatant  and pitiful effort aimed at salvaging the government’s low approval  ratings. This policy will not only ravage the national treasury but also  leave future generations with a heavy national debt. In addition, urging  citizens to donate the money to charity will do very little to help  social organizations already suffering from a 30% slash in funding this  year. It is simply ludicrous that the Ma administration is not planning  to increase funding for these organizations while giving away spending  money to poor and rich people alike at the cost of increasing the  national debt.

On the other hand, Eden Social Welfare Foundation is encouraging people  to use the vouchers toward charity. Though it agrees that the spending  voucher policy is flawed because it gives spending allowance to the  rich, foundation representatives say they are trying to make the best of  this imminent and unwise government policy by turning it into something  constructive that will enable people to exercise human kindness. Their  motto is that one can make society a little bit better by using these  spending vouchers. Hence, the foundation is planning to use all the  vouchers it receives toward helping senior homes buy formula and  diapers. This decision will not only boost consumption levels as the  government hopes, but also help charitable organizations.

Average citizens are also divided in their views about the spending  vouchers. For example, one Presbyterian Church member in Taichung who is  currently doing a doctorate in sociology said that he would not be  donating the money to charity. He feels that spending vouchers and doing  charity are two separate issues. In his opinion, there are better ways  and policies to support charities than donating spending vouchers. He  also feels that people should examine whether policies are noble and  honest instead of judging every policy that allows donations to be  tax-deductible as good policy. Giving spending vouchers away to  charitable organizations is not only a wrong-headed policy, but also a  moral facade. Furthermore, piling debt upon debt in the name of  consumption will not improve the economy and the added distribution cost  of this policy is too high. Also, since only stores that issue uniform  receipts can accept these vouchers, this policy will not benefit most  vendors in Taiwan who do not issue uniform receipts.

On the other hand, one Presbyterian Church member in Taipei said that he  would definitely donate the vouchers to charitable organizations. His  reason is that church tithing usually goes to help marginalized  organizations anyway. During this season of financial crisis, it is only  fitting to use this additional money toward supporting organizations  that help the disadvantaged. However, he is not happy about rich people  getting extra spending money either.

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