The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus said today that it would propose amendments to Article 16-1 of the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) to separate fiscal allocations for the three outlying counties from the 19 municipalities on Taiwan proper.
KMT Legislator Chen Hsueh-sheng (陳雪生) has started working on the amendments, which should reach a party consensus soon, it said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
President William Lai (賴清德) and Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) today criticized amendments to the act, proposed by the opposition parties last year, for leading to non-distributable funds, central government debt and unequal distribution across urban and rural areas.
When the amendments were originally proposed last year, the opposition expected the Cabinet to present its own version, KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) told a news conference this morning.
However, the Executive Yuan did not offer an alternative proposal and reiterated that the original system of allocating 75 percent of national tax revenues to the central government and the remaining 25 percent to local governments was the best one, Lin said.
KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) called the flaws in the formula highlighted by the Cabinet “small flaws” and "calculation errors,” referring to the calculation of funds for the three outlying counties of Penghu, Kinmen and Lienchiang.
Amendments should be made accordingly, he said, adding that there are no problems with the law other than that.
The problem of the amended fiscal allocation act has been raised by the Cabinet when it requested the legislature to reconsider the bill, Cho said.
Cho is scheduled to invite local governments to two discussion sessions on the act on Saturday.
Cho said he hopes the problem can be resolved through the discussion sessions.
The latest revision of the act would lead to urban-rural inequity and is being rushed through, creating major difficulties in compiling next year’s national budget, Cho was quoted by Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) as saying.
The opposition’s amendments to the act last year were a “grave mistake,” Lai said
The formula was improper, leading to more than NT$30 billion (US$988.425 million) in non-distributable funds and uneven horizontal allocation, leading to less funding for southern counties and cities, he said.
The amendments further pushed the central government to borrow more than NT$300 billion to balance out next year’s budget, weakening its ability to provide relief to local governments in the event of natural disasters, he added.
Additional reporting by Huang Mei-chu
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
RSS