Opinions divided over funding

Chen Ting-an (陳聽安), an economics professor at the National Cheng-chi University, said that although he disapproves of the new changes proposed by Taipei, the Ministry of Finance should be held responsible for causing the mess.

"This is a counter-strike by Taipei City because the finance ministry failed to keep its promise of maintaining the 47 percent allocation quota reserved for the two special municipalities of Taipei and Kaohsiung cities," he said.

When then Taipei mayor Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) gave his approval in 1998 to let the central government change the provincial and municipal corporate taxes to national taxes, he agreed under the condition that the original 47 percent allocation quota be maintained.

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.