NT$3.33 trillion 2025 budget gets Cabinet's nod

Taipei, Aug. 22 (CNA) The Executive Yuan on Thursday approved a proposed NT$3.33 trillion central government budget for the fiscal year 2025, with spending on combating fraud and improving water control systems seeing the largest percentage point increases.

The NT$3.33 trillion (US$104.2 billion) proposal, which includes the NT$3.13 trillion baseline budget and the NT$199.8 billion special budget, was put forth by the Cabinet's Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) and will be sent to the Legislature for approval at the end of the month.

According to the proposal, the government will allocate NT$7.3 billion in funding for ongoing efforts to combat increasingly rampant fraud in Taiwan, marking a dramatic rise of 480 percent from the current budget of NT$1.3 billion.

The planned expansion will primarily support the National Police Agency's anti-fraud operations, according to the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), which oversees the agency.

An MOI official told a news conference Thursday that the agency's budget would also rise from NT$530 million in 2024 to NT$5.74 billion next year.

In addition, the planned allocation to help local governments across Taiwan improve water control systems will rise from NT$39.2 billion this year to NT$55.1 billion in 2025, representing a year-over-year increase of 40.4 percent.

DGBAS official Hsu Yung-i (許永議) told the news conference that the budget was raised significantly in light of damage caused by Typhoon Gaemi, which caused severe flooding in residential and agricultural areas in central and southern Taiwan on July 24 and 25.

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In addition to the uptick in spending on addressing various climate shocks, the government remains committed to investing in energy transition and working toward its net-zero goals, according to Hsu.

For 2025, the proposed expenditure on projects to develop wind power, reduce water leakage, and improve households' electricity efficiency, among others, will rise from the current NT$95.5 billion to NT$116.1 billion in 2025, representing year-over-year growth of 21.6 percent, he added.

Meanwhile, the government will spend NT$648.3 billion on public infrastructure next year, marking an 11.7 percent increase compared to 2024, while allocating NT$647 billion on defense, up 7.7 percent on this year, according to the proposal.

In addition, the government also plans to pump an additional NT$130 billion into the Labor Insurance Fund and NT$100 billion into the state-run Taiwan Power Company (Taipower), the proposal said.

Since 2020, the government has provided direct financial support to the labor fund as contributions dwindle due to Taiwan's low birth rate and aging population.

Similar measures have been taken to assist Taipower, which has reported losses in recent years due to rising global oil prices and its reluctance to raise utility prices.

The government expects to see an increase in total tax revenue and other proceeds of 15.7 percent, reaching NT$3.15 trillion in 2025, compared to the current year, according to the budget plan.

The difference between proposed total spending and expected revenue, which is about NT$178.9 billion, will be made up through borrowing, the DGBAS said.