【Taiwan Immigrants' Global News Network】
According to the Taipei City Government, to increase the birth rate and encourage young families to settle in Taipei City, the mayor's office made revisions to the childbirth subsidy guidelines that went into effect last September.
The third child's subsidy was increased to NT$25,000 in the most recent guideline. With these changes, it addressed the complaints of residents in the Greater Taipei Area (which includes Keelung and New Taipei): 1) The one-year residency minimum for subsidies has been decreased to ten months, and 2) residency in the municipalities is considered when determining eligibility for Taipei's birthing subsidy.
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The second child's subsidy was increased to NT$25,000. (Photo / Retrieved from Pixabay)
The Mayor's Office is working on a new draft of the subsidies that will improve the subsidy for a second child by NT$5,000 (to a total of NT$25,000) and another NT$5,000 for a third child (to a total of NT$30,000) to further strengthen the incentive's appeal. The city government anticipates approval and implementation of the amended incentives in 2022.
In addition to the birthing payment, the municipal administration is focusing its efforts on nationalizing childrearing and childcare services on assistance for child education and parenting. Hopefully, this would minimize the financial burden of having children on families and reduce the opportunity costs for moms.
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The third child's subsidy was increased to NT$30,000. (Photo / Retrieved from Pixabay)
Beginning in August 2022, monthly childrearing and childcare assistance would increase by NT$1,500, while kindergarten and nursery school tuition rates will be decreased by NT$500 per month. In the coming years, the municipal government intends to devote significant resources to the creation of public community childcare institutions and non-profit kindergartens.
As of November 2021, Taipei City has 55 public community childcare institutions, with 68 more planned for 2022 and 75 more for 2024. In Taipei, there are a total of 49 non-profit kindergartens (as of November 2021).