Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Taipei and Kaohsiung received 43 percent of the fund this year, down from 47 percent the previous year. Of that amount, Taipei got 73.55 percent and Kaohsiung 26.45 percent.
The reduction means NT$4 billion less in funding for Taipei this year.
Kaohsiung is asking for a bigger share of the handout that is split with its northern neighbor. The city is asking for as much as 35.88 percent of the amount.
"We have no problem keeping the fund distribution at its current level of 43 percent for Taipei and Kaohsiung," Ma said yesterday during a meeting with Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄). "But it'd be too much to adjust the 73.55 percent reserved for Taipei."
Ma said that Taipei's share of the tax redistribution fund should be maintained because the city contributes the most revenue to the nation's coffers.
"The city has been very cooperative in terms of paying taxes. Forty percent of the central government's tax income comes from us," he said.
The city would lose as much as NT$6.3 billion should the Cabinet reduce Taipei's share of the fund from 73.55 percent to 64.12 percent.
The tax redistribution fund consists of income, commodity and corporate taxes paid to the central government by local governments, which is then redistributed back to them.
Taipei's spending budget for next year is estimated at NT$153 billion, while its revenue is estimated at NT$138.4 billion.
The city is scheduled to approve its proposed annual budget during next Tuesday's city affairs meeting. Once approved, the budget will go to the City Council for further review and final approval.
Ma said that while much of the political focus is placed on the NT$240 billion redistribution fund, the central government gives out another NT$300 billion through a supplementary fund. The supplementary fund includes money from inheritance taxes, commodities taxes and others.
The mayor said that Kaohsiung this year received 3 percent of that amount, while Taipei received none.
Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (
He said that many factories located in Kaohsiung that cause a number of the city's pollution and traffic problems "pay their business taxes to Taipei City," where many company headquarters are located.
That's why Kaohsiung wants a greater share of the tax redistribution fund that is split between the two cities, he said.
But Hsieh denied asking the Cabinet to distribute the fund "evenly".
Refusing to comment further, Hsieh said that he doesn't know whether the Cabinet has decided to act on his proposal.
According to data released from the Directorate General of Budget Accounting and Statistics, Taipei received NT$49.3 billion from the tax redistribution fund this year. Kaohsiung received NT$17.7 billion.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source