TPP pledges to curb use of special budgets, raise local gov't funding

Taipei, Dec. 20 (CNA) The Taiwan People's Party (TPP) on Wednesday announced proposals to curb the government's use of special budgets and expand the allocation of tax revenues to local governments.

TPP legislator at-large candidates Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) made the proposals during a press conference at the campaign headquarters of TPP presidential nominee Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).

Speaking first, Huang argued that Taiwan's current system gives the central government control of 82 percent of tax revenue, leaving local governments underfunded and unable to raise sufficient revenues on their own.

He claimed the ruling Democratic Progressive Party supported reforming the law governing such matters -- the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures -- when it was in opposition, but made no effort to do so after coming to power in 2016.

In order to resolve these issues, the TPP will push for legal amendments to expand the distribution of funds to local governments, and ensure that they are allocated at a uniform rate to all cities and counties, Huang said.

Huang's proposal echoed previous TPP pronouncements on the issue, which have criticized the fact that almost two-thirds of the tax revenue allocated to local governments go to Taiwan's six special municipalities, with the remaining one-third split between 16 other cities and counties.

Meanwhile, Chang said the TPP would also push to amend the Budget Act to ensure the government does not use special budgets outside of the general budget as a "blank authorization" for unrestrained spending.

Under Article 83 of that law, special budgets can be proposed for wars or emergency national defense installations, major national economic events, major calamities or "major political events that take place irregularly or once every few years."

Under President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the government has passed NT$2.4 trillion (US$76.7 billion) in special budgets, including funding for the Forward-Looking Infrastructure Development Program that has gone to overbudgeted projects like the Hsinchu Municipal Baseball Stadium, Chang said.

In response to the criticism, DPP spokesman Chang Chih-hao (張志豪) said TPP Chairman Ko Wen-je had failed to show fiscal discipline as Taipei mayor, accusing him of raiding city government funds to repay municipal debt.