The Executive Yuan yesterday finalized its general budget plan for fiscal 2019, which includes a 5.6 percent increase in the military budget, with the total exceeding NT$2 trillion (US$64.84 billion) for the first time.
The proposed NT$2.022 trillion budget is to be submitted to the Legislative Yuan for review by the end of this month.
The general budget has increased on the back of a steadily growing economy over the past two years, which has in turn boosted tax revenues, Premier William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Executive Yuan in Taipei.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
The increased budget would drive domestic demand, which would lend support to the nation’s economic growth momentum over the short, middle and long term, he said.
Projected government revenue for fiscal 2019 is NT$1.977 trillion, which would translate into a deficit of NT$45 billion — down NT$2.7 billion from the government deficit in the current fiscal year, he added.
Social welfare projects constitute NT$492.2 billion, the largest proportion, of the proposed spending, followed by education, science and cultural projects, which account for a combined projected expenditure of NT$422.8 billion, Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) data showed.
National defense ranked third with NT$329.5 billion earmarked, an increase of 5.6 percent, or NT$18.3 billion, from the current fiscal year, the data showed.
A total of NT$95.1 billion has been allocated for investments to bolster the nation’s military capabilities — up 17.2 percent, or NT$13.9 billion, from the current fiscal year — while NT$94.4 billion is to be spent on military operations, an increase of 7.3 percent, or NT$6.4 billion, the data showed.
Proposed military personnel costs totaled NT$156.5 billion, a decrease of 1.3 percent, or NT$2 billion, which the DGBAS attributed to savings from ending conscription.
The defense budget is to cover the research, development and manufacture of indigenous weapons, as well as the maintenance of primary weapons and their operations, the DGBAS said.
That includes the development of two new advanced jet trainers for NT$5.4 billion and the production of several warships, including a new generation of guided-missile frigates, amphibious landing helicopter dock ships, high-speed minelayers, submarines, missile attack boats and rescue boats, it said.
The Cabinet also earmarked NT$227.5 billion for the second stage of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, which is to begin in the next fiscal year and run until 2020.
The top three categories under the infrastructure program in terms of proposed spending are urban and rural development projects, water-related projects and rail construction, which have proposed budgets of NT$73.1 billion, NT$59.3 billion and NT$42.2 billion respectively.
Additional reporting by Lee Hsin-fang
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