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Population decline
To address Taiwan’s low fertility rate, the Legislative Research Bureau has recommended increasing the NT$2 million (US$70,447) allowance for interest-free loans for young, first-time house buyers and the extension of interest-free mortgages for couples with children aged two to five.
The bureau also recommended that the income tax exemption limit should be raised, and that medical and health management should be improved to bring down the rate of infant mortality.
The Executive Yuan has also set up a cross-departmental task force to devise legislation to encourage couples to have more children.
With the exception of the establishment of the task force and increased mortgage subsidies, all these policies were in 2017 included in the government’s program to increase the fertility rate. Various departments have long been working together to address this issue, yet despite their combined efforts, the fertility rate continues to decline. Last