Legislature finalizes review of 2025 government budget plan

Taipei, Feb. 19 (CNA) A report published by the Legislature Yuan Wednesday said lawmakers had completed their review of the central government's general budget plan for fiscal year 2025.

The report was released nearly a month after the Legislature approved the revised budget, which made cuts of NT$113.59 billion (US$3.46 billion) to the NT$3.1 trillion expenditure plan originally submitted by the Executive Yuan.

However, in a break with precedent, the report did not provide exact figures for all the budget cuts and freezes.

One of the few specific cuts outlined in the report was the slashing of NT$100 billion in aid for Taiwan Power Co.

The state-owned utility has sustained huge losses in recent years due to rising global oil prices and the government's reluctance to raise electricity prices.

In addition, the Legislature also requested that the Executive Yuan make discretionary cuts of no less than NT$93.97 billion, or 3 percent of the Cabinet's originally proposed budget.

Lawmakers from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) pushed through wide-ranging budget cuts and freezes during a whirlwind series of votes at the tail end of the previous legislative session, which ended on Jan. 21.

According to estimates from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) under the Executive Yuan, the Legislature cut NT$207.6 billion from the Cabinet's originally proposed budget and froze an additional NT$138.1 billion.

Over the past few weeks, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government has attempted to negotiate with the opposition lawmakers to stop what it has characterized as "historically high" budget cuts that threaten to undermine government operations and the implementation of key policies.

However, those talks, including inter-party negotiations convened by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) of the KMT on Tuesday, failed to achieve a breakthrough.

During the negotiations, Han urged the Executive Yuan not to seek a revote on the passed budget plan, a "veto" power it has utilized three times over the past year in unsuccessful attempts to reject legislation passed by the current Legislature.

Under Taiwan's Constitution, the Executive Yuan can ask the Legislature to hold a revote on legislation it has already passed if the central government deems the measures "difficult to implement."

Han said the executive branch could instead explore alternative ways to replenish funding for government agencies facing budget cuts, such as using special budgets or "reserve funds."

Both options, however, would still require legislative approval.

The Cabinet, meanwhile, has indicated it will once again ask for a legislative revote to scrap the budget plan altogether -- despite opposition lawmakers publicly stating they will uphold their original decision.

In a statement issued after Tuesday's talks, Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said the government regarded the passed budget plan as "difficult to implement" and would "consider seeking remedies."