Taiwan plans to add NT$235.7 billion (about $7.4 billion) to the 2026 central government budget to fund a universal cash payment of NT$10,000 (about $310) per person, with President Lai Ching-te saying the payout can be financed under balanced revenues and expenditures with effectively zero new borrowing so that "AI dividends are shared by all." Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an said the central government should raise the amount to NT$20,000 (about $630), while Taipei's Department of Finance argued that local surpluses are a "nest egg" built over time rather than an "excess economic dividend" generated by stronger national tax receipts. The city said its projected fiscal 2026 budget surplus of NT$33.2 billion (about $1.0 billion) sits against NT$35.3 billion (about $1.1 billion) in debt, and that revenues of NT$238.2 billion (about $7.5 billion) fall short of planned expenditures of NT$252.4 billion (about $7.9 billion), forcing a drawdown of reserves. Taipei City Government deputy spokesperson Yeh Hsiang-yuan countered that the central government has room even for NT$20,000, citing January-through-July securities transaction tax (tax on stock trading) revenue of NT$398.7 billion (about $12.5 billion), a full-year estimate above NT$600 billion (about $18.8 billion), and a first-half fiscal 2026 tax revenue increase of NT$837 billion (about $26.2 billion). The proposal will be drafted through the Executive Yuan (Taiwan's cabinet) and reviewed by the Legislative Yuan (Taiwan's legislature), with the timeline, final amount and payment method still to be decided.