Projects and services benefiting the public are to be severely affected if an amendment to fiscal planning law passed on Friday last week is officially promulgated, government agencies said yesterday.
Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) on Monday said that the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) would take effect three days after it is promulgated by President William Lai (賴清德).
Next year’s overall government budget would be seriously affected by the amendments and might need to be reallocated, she added.
Photo: CNA
Under the changes, the central government needs to allocate NT$375.3 billion (US$11.49 billion) to local governments, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said.
As a result, funding for the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Ministry of National Defense would be reduced by 28 percent, it said.
Speaking to reporters yesterday prior to a news conference, Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said that the amendments would cause public health and social welfare funds to shrink, including childcare subsidies.
It would also affect the health ministry’s efforts to strengthen cancer prevention and expand free cancer screenings, as well as funding for cancer treatments, research and drugs, Chiu said.
Efforts aimed at countering the declining birthrate, including childcare subsidies for children aged 2 and younger, various childcare services and subsidies for assisted reproduction treatments would also be impacted, he said.
Health and welfare policies have nationwide significance and cannot be determined solely based on local preferences, he added.
“We place great emphasis on overall inclusiveness, ensuring that all citizens have equal access to healthcare regardless of which county or city they live in,” Chiu said.
That requires the central government to have sufficient resources to improve healthcare, social welfare and medical services, and create better working conditions for medical and healthcare professionals, he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) said that the amendments would mean a significant budget reduction for his ministry and affect inter-regional initiatives such as waste management and the net zero carbon goals.
The environment ministry faces budget cuts of up to NT$2 billion due to the amendments, Peng told reporters.
The central government would have less capacity to contribute to net zero carbon initiatives, which means net zero carbon targets might need to be adjusted, he said.
Subsidies for electric buses, which improve air quality and often support disadvantaged regions, could also be impacted, he added.
The environment ministry currently handles construction and waste management projects by coordinating with local governments, but if funding is shifted to local governments, local authorities would need to shoulder more responsibility and differing priorities between regions could lead to certain issues being overlooked, Peng said.
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