Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) asked lawmakers yesterday for a freer hand in spending money from the nation's tax redistribution fund, saying the Cabinet needs the cash to deal with the damage brought on by Typhoon Toraji.
But opposition lawmakers said yesterday the government isn't as hard up as it claims, saying there's at least NT$44.5 billion on hand to be spent on disaster relief.
Legislative Yuan speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
PHOTO: TUNG CHENG-KUO, TAIPEI TIMES
Chang said the Cabinet urgently needs the money because disaster reserves set aside by the government are insufficient to cope with typhoon damage.
The premier also denied yesterday that there was NT$7.6 billion in tax revenue left over from previous fiscal years that the Cabinet could spend on typhoon-related disaster relief. He said this money has already been allocated to make up for the financial short-falls of local governments.
Proceeds from the tax redistribution fund are given to local governments by the Cabinet. But the government this year has withheld 6 percent of the fund -- estimated at NT$9.3 billion -- to cope with emergencies at the local government level.
According to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, the government had amassed NT$4.6 billion in the redistribution tax fund as of June.
Because the legislature fears the Cabinet would use the money as its own "private stash," lawmakers have required the Executive Yuan to seek their approval before drawing on the fund.
The Executive Yuan, with the legislature's permission, used NT$3 billion of the fund earlier last month to cope with the anticipated consequences of the typhoon season.
KMT lawmakers said yesterday there was plenty of money on hand for the Cabinet to spend on disaster relief efforts.
Lee Cheng-chong (李正宗), KMT legislative caucus whip, said the party wouldn't agree to let the Cabinet spend the tax redistribution fund unless it was able to present satisfactory relief and reconstruction plans.
Lee said in addition to NT$1.6 billion currently available from the tax redistribution fund, NT$7.6 billion is left over from past fiscal years.
While NT$9 billion in "secondary" reserves are also available, there's still another NT$26.3 billion which was originally budgeted for post-earthquake reconstruction but has been left unused, Lee said.
The legislature had removed that NT$26.3 billion from the Cabinet's proposed budget after it failed to present detailed plans for spending the money.
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