Department of Civil Affairs

Population Policy Committee to Be Established to Address Population Issues in Taipei City.

The population of Taipei City has been decreasing in recent years mainly due to the impact of COVID-19, causing a surge in the number of households moving abroad (household deregistration). Since border restrictions were lifted on October 13, 2022, the number of reinstated household registrations has increased and the city's population has gradually rebounded. However, on domestic migration, since the housing price to income ratio in Taipei City is much higher than that in New Taipei City and Taoyuan City, while the MRT network has significantly reduced transportation barriers and commuting time costs, this has resulted in out-migration of the registered population.

The exacerbating problems of declining population, falling birth rates and super-aged population in Taipei City cannot be dealt with by a single agency or a single policy. The city government has been actively working on the establishment of a Population Policy Committee to effectively focus on the planning, formulation, integration, and coordination of population policies in Taipei City, and to engage in inter-agency discussions on issues related to marriage, childbirth, livability, employment, LOHAS, and long term care to foster a happy and livable city for sustainable development.

Encourage Citizens to Have More Children by Increasing Birth Incentive Bonuses

On March 21, the Taipei City Council approved the amendment to the “Taipei City Childbirth Incentive Payment Regulations”, which increases the amount of incentive bonuses for the first child to NT$40,000, the second child to NT$45,000, and the third child or more to NT$50,000; all newborns born after April 4, 2023 (inclusive) can benefit from the new regulations. The increase in incentive bonuses means that the bonus payment for the first child tops any other city or county in the country. Because the current regulations are based on the combined period of domicile in the Taipei-New Taipei-Keelung region, as long as one of the parents has been domiciled in Taipei-New Taipei-Keelung for at least 10 months at the time of the birth of the newborn, and is domiciled in Taipei City at the time of the final application, the increased birth incentive bonus shall apply.

The number of births in Taipei City has been declining year by year since 2015 and fell to a record low of 14,528 in 2022. In order to reduce the burden on families raising children and to encourage people to have children with peace of mind, the increase in  birth incentive payment was introduced.

Social Housing Childcare Family Assistance Program Foster Care Assistance for School-Age Children

For families with two or more children aged 0-6, the Taipei City Government will adopt an additional lottery system to increase the chance of moving into social housing by two times, and shall apply to the Huarong Public Market Urban Renewal and Fuxing Social Housing Project, both of which are expected to be completed at the end of the year. In addition, in order to alleviate the burden of childcare on young families and encourage childbirth, families with children aged 0-12 living in social housing in Taipei City can apply for additional childcare rental subsidies in addition to the tiered rental subsidy system of NT$3,000 to NT$11,000 per month, with each child entitled to a monthly rental subsidy of NT$1,000, up to a maximum of NT$3,000 per month. Applications will be accepted starting in May 2023, and direct rent deductions will begin in June after applications are approved. The Taipei City Government added that it has continued to inventory the city's property assets and the social housing capacities in the city to increase the stock of social housing in a diversified approach, so that more resources can be provided to help young families with children.

Reducing Burden of Childcare: Friendly Childcare Subsidies and Abolishing Tax Rate Limitations

Taipei City's Friendly Childcare Subsidy abolished tax rate restrictions in 2023. Considering the heavier burden for families that send children to quasi-public infant daycare centers or employ quasi-public childcare workers at home, and on account of a general rise in inflation, starting from April 4, 2023, the subsidies for the quasi-public infant daycare services will be increased from NT$4,000 to NT$5,000 per month for children attending quasi-public infant daycare centers and childcare workers at home, and from NT$6,000 to NT$7,000 per month for families with a second child or more. Together with the childcare subsidy of NT$8,500 from the central government for quasi-public childcare services, the parental burden will be reduced from NT$7,000 - NT$10,000 to NT$6,000 to NT$9,000, with 5,200 children expected to benefit from the increased subsidies.

Supporting Families with Children: Let’s Cherish your Children Together!

Up to NT$52,000 in Subsidies Per Year for Children Attending Private Kindergartens!

The Taipei City Government will launch the “Baby I Love You - Private Kindergarten Education Assistance Program” in August 2023 to provide a maximum subsidy of NT$52,000 per school year for private kindergarten schooling. In line with the Central Government's “National Policy to Address Low Birth Rate”, the city's “6-6 Incentive Plan” tuition subsidy program will be retired in the second semester of the 2022 academic year. However, due to the special position of Taipei City and in recognition of the heavy burden on families with children, starting from August 2023, if a child between the ages of 2 and 4 attends a private kindergarten in Taipei City, and if any parent or guardian of the child is domiciled in Taipei City, and if the applicable comprehensive income tax rate for the most recent year does not reach 20%, different amounts of subsidies will be granted depending on the total fees charged by the kindergarten attended. For kindergartens charging less than NT$7,276 per student per month, the subsidy is the difference in tuition fees after deducting the central government’s childcare subsidy; for kindergartens charging between NT$7,277 and NT$11,276 per month, the subsidy is NT$13,660 per student per semester; for kindergartens charging more than NT$11,277 per month, subsidies will be granted from NT$13,661 to a maximum of NT$26,000 per student per semester, with a maximum subsidy of NT$52,000 per student per academic year. Details of the program are expected to be posted on the Bureau of Education’s website in June 2023.

Encouraging Births, Assisting in Care, and Providing Good Living 

“Good Pregnancy” Goes Full Throttle

The increase in childbirth incentive bonuses, the increase in the number of social housing units, the increase in the number of social housing units for families with two or more children, the elimination of the tax rate restrictions for friendly childcare subsidies, and the private childcare education subsidy program are some of the key childcare friendly policies that Mayor Chiang has implemented since taking office. However, as there are many reasons for low birth rates, the city government will continue to invest resources in public support for childcare and early childhood education, continue to provide more public childcare facilities, increase the number of spots offered in public and non-profit kindergartens to reduce the cost of raising young children, and will strive to formulate other innovative childcare policies to provide a more diverse social environment to support and give the most concrete help to families raising children.