Commissioners and mayors of seven cities and counties yesterday signed a joint letter demanding that the central government adjust its loan capacity structure and debt ceiling limits so that local governments can avoid potential bankruptcy, amid a proposed amendment to the Public Debt Act (公共債務法).
Led by Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠), the seven cities and counties urged the central government to increase the debt limit for 16 cities and counties, excluding the five special municipalities, from 1.43 percent of the average GDP of the previous three years, to 2.63 percent.
Hsinchu and Keelung cities, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin, Yilan and Hualien counties also sent representatives — lawmakers or deputy commissioners — to the press conference at the legislature.
Under the Cabinet’s proposed amendment, total public debt at all levels of government would be capped at 50 percent of the average GDP for the previous three years. A debt limit of 41.2 percent would be set for the central government, 7.25 percent for the special municipalities, 1.43 percent for the remaining 16 counties and cities, and 0.12 percent for all villages and townships.
Chang said the plan was unfair for the 16 cities and counties and has once again shown the imbalance of fund allocation between various levels of governments.
The debt capacity for the special municipalities would be 5.07 times that of the 16 cities and counties, despite the municipalities having a combined population that is only 2.23 times that of the smaller cities and counties, said Chang, who initiated the recommendation on Dec. 5.
The seven commissioners and mayors recommended revising the debt structure so that the central government would give up 1.2 percent of its capacity to the 16 cities and counties, Chang said.
They also recommended lowering the debt ceiling for local governments from 45 percent of the annual budget to 80 percent.
According to Chang, Yilan County, Miaoli County and Hsinchu City have all exceeded their debt ceilings, and five other local governments, including Chiayi County, are close to reaching their debt limits.
The recommended measures would not change the state of local governments’ finances overnight, but are expected to ease the fiscal burden, Chang said.
“No one wants to incur debt and we know the nation’s finances are in a difficult condition, but the truth is that local governments have suffered from unfair budget allocations for decades and the resulting financial hardship has impeded local development,” Pingtung Deputy Commissioner Chung Chia-ling (鍾佳濱) said.
DPP Legislator Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國), who represented Yunlin County at the press conference, warned the government against ignoring poorer cities and counties and only paying attention to the densely populated special municipalities.
“The Constitution stipulates that each and every citizen should be treated the same way and the government should not make some people ‘A-class’ citizens and others ‘B-class,’” Liu said.
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
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS