Legislative review of 2025 government budget plan to commence

Taipei, Nov. 8 (CNA) Leaders of the ruling and opposition parties in the Legislative Yuan on Friday adopted a motion to begin the review of the 2025 central government budget proposal, effectively ending a monthlong stalemate over the issue.

Also read: Budget impasse at Legislature nears end as Cabinet cedes to KMT, TPP demands

The central government's budget plan for the fiscal year 2025 will now be sent to various legislative committees for more detailed deliberation.

The decision was signed off on by caucus representatives from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, as well as the opposition Kuomintang and the Taiwan People's Party during inter-party negotiations on Friday morning.

Afterwards, the motion was adopted on the legislative floor without being put to a vote, ending the impasse that had persisted since lawmakers began the new session on Sept. 20.

The motion came a day after the Cabinet and the three party caucuses reached an agreement to earmark funding needed to provide compensation to Indigenous peoples for a logging ban per amendments promulgated in June.

The Cabinet also agreed to raise funding next year to reimburse medical facilities in accordance with a legislative resolution adopted earlier this year and conceive an updated plan for acquiring public food stocks by the end of 2024.

The Cabinet submitted the NT$3.33 trillion (US$103 billion) budget proposal to the Legislature for review at the end of August.

According to the plan, social welfare will continue to account for the largest share of the government's budget in 2025, followed by spending on education, technology and culture.

Economic development and defense spending will rank third and fourth, respectively, in terms of their shares of the proposed budget.