Taiwan's ruling and opposition parties are quarrelling over the size of the "universal cash handout," and there is little prospect of an increase in the short term — bad news for the public.

• Lai Ching-te has announced a handout of NT$10,000 per person next year, while the KMT caucus is demanding an increase to NT$20,000–30,000, arguing that the economic growth rate is better than last year and that over-collected tax revenue should be returned to the public.
• The DPP has countered that raising the amount is unconstitutional, because the power to draw up the budget rests with the executive branch and the opposition has no authority to decide directly how the money is disbursed.
• The Executive Yuan's handout is premised on not borrowing, maintaining fiscal discipline, and not crowding out other necessary spending; an increase would cross all three of those lines.
• The DPP has turned the tables, pointing out that Taipei City has the largest budget surplus and that Mayor Chiang Wan-an could hand out more than NT$20,000 to each of the city's residents first, while also proposing that the KMT use its party assets to "return wealth to the people."

Outlook: The proposed increase is unlikely to materialise in the short term, and the dispute is more likely to turn into a political tug-of-war between the central government and Taipei City.