Tang Fei suggests raising debt ceiling

Premier Tang Fei (唐飛) was back on the job yesterday afternoon, and his first order of business was to address the government's looming financial difficulties.

Tang said that a ceiling on the nation's debt as a percentage of its income could be raised, requiring a change to revisions in the Public Debt Law (公共債務法).

According to regulations, the government is permitted to carry a debt that is no more than 15 percent of its annual budget.

Tang noted that the annual expenditure of the government exceeds its revenue. Because now is not a good time to raise taxes, Tang said, an adjustment to the debt law seems the appropriate solution.

Nevertheless, Tang said he would seek the opinions of others and discuss the issue with the Legislative Yuan.

Tang said it was currently impossible to fulfill the financial requests of local governments. He added that he hoped the central and local governments could help each other through the rough times.

Hualien County Commissioner Wang Chin-feng (王慶豐) and Taichung City Mayor Chang Wen-ying (張溫鷹) visited the Executive Yuan yesterday, expressing concern over local government's financial difficulties.