Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德) said yesterday that tax revenues this year were better than last year, but he declined to comment on whether they would be able to finance pay increases for civil servants.
Lee made the remarks at a legislative committee meeting during which legislators asked whether the ministry was ready to accommodate such pay increases.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said that the government last raised civil servants’ salaries by 5 percent in 2005, which required an outlay of NT$20 billion (US$680.4 million).
Lee said that the country’s finances were improving, but how tax revenues are utilized would be decided by the Executive Yuan.
“The government will set priorities for expenditure and will consider the matter under its overall budget arrangement,” Lee said.
Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said on Monday that if first-quarter tax revenues see steady growth, indicating a continuing economic recovery, then the Executive Yuan would not rule out appropriating additional budget money to fund the pay increases.
Wu was responding to KMT Legislator Alex Fai (費鴻泰), who said that although the economy grew by 10.82 percent last year, the majority of people have not felt the positive effects economic rebound.
Fai demanded that pay raises bee given to civil servants, before asking private businesses to also grant pay increases so that the growth could be enjoyed by everyone.
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