Thu, Jan 17, 2002 page4

• KMT denounces DGBAS as a threat

  • By Stephanie Low / STAFF REPORTER
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  The KMT yesterday condemned what it called a "threat" from the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) intended to block KMT-proposed amendments to the Law Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法).

  Despite the DGBAS's opposition, KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) said the party will have its lawmakers push the amendments through the legislature before this legislative session comes to a close later this week, so as to resolve a dispute over the allocation of the country's tax funds among local governments that has repeated itself year after year.

  "The purpose is very simple, which is to integrate the tax redistribution fund and subsidy fund. Each ministry will have to surrender their private stash to enlarge the pie and entitle local governments to a fixed source of income," Lien said.

  Lien made the order during a weekly meeting of the party's Central Standing Committee.

  In response, DGBAS officials clarified that they had never issued such a threat as the KMT alleged.

  The officials said they simply notified the local governments of their estimated decrease in subsidy funds after the amendments are passed.

  According to Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), a lawmaker and deputy executive director of the KMT's Policy Committee, the DGBAS faxed a letter to all county and city governments on Tuesday with the intent of having them lobby lawmakers to thwart the KMT plan.

  In the letter, the DGBAS warned that the subsidy funds for the local governments would decrease by NT$20 billion if the law were amended in accordance with the KMT's proposal.

  In reaction to the changes, the DGBAS said it might stop appropriating the subsidy funds to county and city governments and instead send the funds directly to townships and county municipalities.

  "This kind of threat indicates that the DPP government is despotic, which deserves condemnation," Tseng said.

  The proposed amendments, which have been prioritized by the KMT for passage, were raised in reaction to the Executive Yuan's plan to lower the allocation ratio of the tax redistribution fund for the special municipalities of Taipei and Kaohsiung, while increasing the share for the nation's other 23 counties and cities.

  Mainly based on an idea put forth by Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), the KMT proposal is designed to double the tax redistribution fund to NT$300 billion.

  To achieve that goal, the KMT has proposed an equal division of business taxes between the local and central governments and increasing the share of income and commodity taxes that local governments may keep from 10 percent to 30 percent.

  Ma has said that Taipei wishes only to maintain its current allocation of NT$48.4 billion and would let the other localities share the increased amount.

  Contrary to the DGBAS's argument, the KMT has estimated that the amendments would raise Kaohsiung's allocation by NT$11.2 billion, while increasing the total share for the other 23 localities by NT$30.2 billion.
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