The Cabinet approved Sept. 16 a new definition of the poverty line, along with several other amendments to the Public Assistance Act.
The revision, proposed by the Ministry of the Interior, will redefine the threshold more broadly to allow more low-income individuals to receive financial assistance from the government, the Cabinet said.
The MOI estimated that an additional 52,000 low-income individuals will benefit from the changes. The draft proposals still have to be passed by the Legislative Yuan before they can take effect in the near future.
The current definition of the poverty line applies to those whose income falls below 60 percent of the average annual per capita expenditure in the county or city in which they reside.
The proposed change would alter the words “60 percent of the average annual per capita expenditure” in the current definition to “60 percent of the median disposable income.”
According to analysts, the proposed amendments will better reflect the country’s distribution of wealth. Using the median instead of average in calculation can also avoid biased poverty lines caused by extreme values, they said.
Under the current definition, someone making more than NT$9,829 (US$309) per month is considered living above the poverty line, and is therefore not entitled to receive government assistance for the poor. The new definition would raise the bar higher, the Cabinet said.
The proposed amendments also call for the creation of a new category known as the medium-low income bracket. Anyone whose income is less than 1.5 times higher than the poverty line will fall into this new category, and will be able “to apply for various government subsidy programs,” the MOI said.
If the suggested amendments are passed by the Legislature this year, the MOI said, the government will have to spend an additional NT$4.3 billion on social welfare programs in 2011.
Together, the amendments are expected to benefit 852,000 low-income and medium-low-income individuals. (HZW)
Write to Audrey Wang at audrey@mail.gio.gov.tw