Taiwan's cabinet approved a plan to hand every resident NT$10,000 in cash next year, funded by strong growth rather than new borrowing — good for households, but the opposition wants double and the government says no.

• Premier Cho Jung-tai called doubling the payout to NT$20,000 "absolutely not possible," saying it would eat into welfare payments for elderly farmers, national pensions, and birth-rate subsidies.
• The government is calling it an "AI dividend" — a share of the tax windfall from Taiwan's AI-driven export boom — and is setting aside a large chunk of next year's budget for it.
• The budget adds no new debt and pays some down, pushing government debt to its lowest share since the provincial government was streamlined decades ago.
• There is no income cap, so rich and poor get the same amount, on the logic that the AI windfall belongs to everyone.
• The handout is expected to add a modest fraction of a percentage point to next year's growth, slightly less than last year's cash handout did.

Outlook: The plan now goes to the legislature, where the opposition-controlled chamber is likely to keep pressing for a bigger payout.