The government will take out a total of NT$429 billion (US$13.4 billion) in loans for the next fiscal year to meet a shortfall in budget revenue, which will bring the nation’s total loans to an all-time high of NT$4.7 trillion, according to a Cabinet official yesterday.
“Although accumulated debt is approaching the cap, we will never exceed that,” Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德) said when asked if the government planned to revise the Public Debt Act (公共債務法), which sets the combined debt ceiling for the central government at 40 percent of average nominal GNP for the previous three years.
The NT$4.7 trillion loan accounts for 37.79 percent of GNP.
Lee made the remarks at a press conference following a Cabinet meeting during which a draft budget statement for next fiscal year was approved.
The Cabinet projected revenue for next year at NT$1.63 trillion and expenditure at NT$1.78 trillion, increasing from NT$1.55 trillion and NT$1.71 trillion respectively this year.
Of the NT$429 billion in loans, NT$159 billion is to meet the deficit between projected revenue and outlay, NT$60 billion is to pay for debt servicing and the remaining NT$204 billion is a special loan to fund public construction and flood-management projects.
Without the special loan, which is not subject to the debt-raising ceiling, loans to be taken out next year account for 12 percent of the outlay, lower than the cap of 15 percent.
Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics Minister Shih Su-mei (石素梅) said the government has earmarked NT$3.2 billion for various activities to be held next year to celebrate the Republic of China’s centenary.
Of the government’s total outlay, spending on education, science and culture leads the pack with NT$357.3 billion, or 20 percent, followed by social welfare spending of NT$346.9 billion, or 19.4 percent, defense at NT$287.2 billion, or 16 percent, and economic development spending at NT$225.9 billion or 12.6 percent.
Defense spending accounted for 2.6 percent of GDP, less than 3 percent as promised previously by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
Chinese embassy staffers attempted to interrupt an award ceremony of an international tea competition in France when the organizer introduced Taiwan and displayed the Republic of China flag, a Taiwanese tea farmer said in an interview published today. Hsieh Chung-lin (謝忠霖), chief executive of Juxin Tea Factory from Taichung's Lishan (梨山) area, on Dec. 2 attended the Teas of the World International Contest held at the Peruvian embassy in Paris. Hsieh was awarded a special prize for his Huagang Snow Source Tea by the nonprofit Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products (AVPA). During the ceremony, two Chinese embassy staffers in attendance
RSS