The Executive Yuan yesterday said it plans to cut subsidies for local governments by 25 percent across the board and would decide on future funding based on the results of a constitutional judgement.
The reduction was made in response to the Legislative Yuan slashing the central government’s spending for this year by about NT$207.6 billion (US$6.9 billion), Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference.
Of that total, NT$63.6 billion was left for the Executive Yuan to determine what specific budgeted items to remove, according to a plan pushed through in January by lawmakers from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
The central government is not required to provide the “general purpose” grants, Lee said, adding that the decision is in accordance with regulations.
Lee said that NT$143.9 billion of the NT$207.6 billion cut by the legislature has already been removed by the central government.
Many of the budget cuts impacted specific items and agency budgets, and reducing subsidies is one of the few ways left for the government to avoid serious impacts on security, diplomacy and education, Lee added.
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics is reducing the local subsidies in line with the legislature’s budget cuts, she said.
The Executive Yuan has requested a constitutional judgement on the budget and would discuss next steps based on the results, she added.
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said the cuts were “precise,” targeting social welfare programs, education, police and emergency infrastructure.
New Taipei City’s subsidies are being reduced by 27.3 percent, or NT$3.04 billion, Hou said, adding that he hoped the government would conduct a thorough review before going through with the plan.
Miaoli County’s subsidies are being reduced by NT$2.81 billion, representing 10 percent of its total budget, Miaoli County Commissioner Chung Tung-chin (鍾東錦) said.
As the budget has already been formulated, it would be carried out, but toward the end of the year there might be deficits and shortfalls affecting certain projects, Chung said.
As it is no longer possible to borrow money, the county would need to be more frugal, he said.
Kaohsiung is facing the biggest cut among the six special municipalities, which would affect the city’s social welfare and education sector, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.
“I want to cry, but have no tears,” Chen said.
The central government should pull back, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said in response to the NT$3.79 billion cut to the capital’s subsidies.
The cuts break the law and are an abuse of power, KMT caucus secretary-general Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) said.
The legislature has not made any cuts to local grants and the Executive Yuan has no authority to unilaterally cut them, Wang said.
Statistics compiled by the KMT caucus show that combined cuts to the Tainan, Kaohsiung, Changhua County and Pingtung County budgets exceed NT$5 billion, and that the government has historically favored areas controlled by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) by allocating them more funding, she said.
Every grievance has a source and every debt has an owner, DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said, blaming the cuts on the budget passed by KMT and TPP lawmakers.
The opposition proposed NT$93.9 billion in cuts and said the Executive Yuan had to find NT$63.6 billion on its own, Wu said, adding that the Executive Yuan and all Taiwanese are victims of the KMT and the TPP.
The government understands the difficulties faced by local governments in response to the cuts and would look for ways to assist, DGBAS Deputy Director Chen Hui-chuan (陳慧娟) said.
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