A political fight in Taipei over whether the city should hand cash back to residents is putting Mayor Chiang Wan-an on the spot, and the numbers suggest most people would get very little.

• A DPP councillor says the city has collected NT$3.5 billion more in local taxes than budgeted under Chiang, and wants it returned to residents.
• The city finance department says the surplus from the past two years is already spent on helping industries hit by US tariffs.
• Last year's surplus was small enough that each resident would get about NT$26.
• KMT councillors pushed Chiang on whether the central government will hand out NT$20,000 per person; he said the budget bill still has legal problems and needs careful study.
• A KMT councillor noted the central government has over-collected roughly NT$1.3 trillion in four years, which would be about NT$40,000 a head.

Outlook: The handout push now hinges on the central budget fight, and Taipei is unlikely to move on its own.