The government's total outstanding debts will reach an estimated NT$3.4 trillion by the end of next year, according to an evaluation report on the government's overall budget plan for the coming year.
The report, released by the Legislative Yuan's budget center yesterday, said the estimated outstanding public debts will account for 33.6 percent of GNP for the past three years.
The figures indicate that the government's financial status is worsening, the report said, adding that the trend of "incurring more new debts than repaying old debts" has shown no sign of abating.
The report also questioned the propriety of the Cabinet's failure to list all outstanding public debts in detail or to present a comparative analysis of public debts in its budget bill.
The Cabinet only said accumulated outstanding debts would increase to NT$2.9 trillion by the end of this year.
The practice seems to have violated the principle of enhancing transparency in budget planning, the report said.
It also pointed out that the government's social welfare budget has continued to expand, accounting for 18.3 percent of overall public expenditures for next year.
The ratio is only second to the 19 percent share appropriated for education, science and cultural development. The projected social welfare spending marks a 7.9 percent increase from the 2002 level, far higher than the 3.5 percent annual growth for the government's total expenditures.
According to the report, social welfare spending has increased from NT$97.1 billion to more than NT$287.6 billion for next year.
In comparison, the government has only budgeted NT$220 billion for boosting economic development, marking a 22-percent decrease from the 2002 level.
* The budget center's figures indicate that the government's financial status is worsening because the trend of "incurring more new debts than repaying old debts" has shown no signs of abating.
* The report also questioned the propriety of the Cabinet's failure to list all outstanding public debts in detail or to present a comparative analysis of public debts in its budget bill.
* It also pointed out that the government's social welfare budget has continued to expand, accounting for 18.3 percent of overall public expenditures for 2003.
The report expressed concerns about the continued increases in government subsidies to various debt-ridden social insurance programs. In the coming year, the government's social insurance subsidies will increase by more than NT$19.7 billion from this year's level, the largest increase among all categories.
The report said the government should review all public insurance programs, many of which have long relied on government subsidies to make ends meet.
For instance, the government has budgeted more than NT$98 billion to bolster the farmers insurance program which has been deep in debt due to its low premium rate.
Over the past five years, the government has also spent more than NT$107.2 billion on helping the civil servants insurance program.
With a view to improving its financial situation, the report said, the government should endeavor to craft self-sufficient financing mechanisms for various social insurance programs to maintain their sustainable development.
The report also urged the government to adjust the distribution of social welfare resources and integrate welfare benefits to low-income families and disadvantaged groups to avoid overlapping and wasting of resources.
The report further expressed regret over the National Security Bureau's failure to honor its promise to list its intelligence administrative affairs in its budget plan as other agencies have usually done.
It also expressed dissatisfaction with the high ratios of confidential budgets in the defense and diplomatic categories.
KMT and PFP legislators have threatened to return the 2003 budget bill to the Cabinet if the executive branch fails to give a reasonable explanation for its allegedly overly optimistic estimate of revenues for the next year.
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