The central government’s general budget for next year was passed by the legislature in the session’s final general assembly meeting yesterday.
The legislature held its final general assembly yesterday, ending early the plenary session that started in September, which was to continue until the end of this month, as lawmakers had decided on Dec. 4.
The expenditure budget is NT$1.9759 trillion (US$59.664 billion), after the originally listed NT$1.9981 trillion was slashed by NT$22.2 billion, a 1.11 percent cut.
Photo: CNA
A slight revision was also made to the revenue budget, cutting it from NT$1.8446 trillion to NT$1.8224 trillion.
The difference between revenue and expenditure is NT$153.5 billion. With NT$73 billion of debt service, a total of NT$226.5 billion needs to be borrowed.
The resolutions passed along with the general budget bill included one to halt Chinese conglomerate Tsinghua Unigroup’s planned acquisition of Siliconware Precision Industries Co Ltd, Powertech Technology and ChipMOS shares until the Ministry of Economic Affairs has completed an impact evaluation report and presented it to the legislature.
The resolution garnered cross-party agreement in a cross-caucus negotiation on Tuesday.
The resolution also prohibits the government from opening up the IC design industry — which has sensitive technologies that are crucial to industrial survival — to Chinese investment, while requiring the ministry to not allow any Chinese investment or mergers in the IC industry prior to legislative approval.
The legislature also cleared a bill that will financially compensate Aborigines who own land, but are banned from making economic use of it pursuant to regulations concerning land conservation.
Three major media bills, the Television and Radio Act (廣播電視法), Cable Television Act (有線廣播法) and Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), which have been stalled for years, but obtained a needed cross-party consensus on Thursday on the condition that controversial articles be excluded, were also passed.
The Act for Development of Small and Medium Enterprises ((中小企業發展條例) has been amended to allow companies to claim raises given to their employees as tax-deductible expenses.
As of press time last night, the meeting was still in session and was expected to continue late into the night.
Other amendments anticipated to clear the floor included ones to the Compilation and Administration of Education Expenditures Act (教育經費編列與管理法), the so-called three acts concerning national land — the National Land Planning Act (國土計劃法), the Landscape Act (景觀法) and the Coastal Zone Management Act (海域管理法) — and the Patient Autonomy Act (病人自主權利法).
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