KMT vows to defy Cabinet request, uphold local gov't funding changes

Taipei, Nov. 27 (CNA) Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers on Thursday vowed to uphold amendments allocating more tax revenues to local governments, after the Cabinet said it would request a reconsideration.

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"If the Cabinet truly respected local fiscal autonomy, it should first let the Legislature's version of the revenue allocation act take effect, and then assess its impact," KMT caucus leader Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) told reporters.

He criticized the Cabinet for unveiling its own draft amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures last Thursday, accusing the ruling Democratic Progressive Party of trying to "bury" the revisions passed by the opposition-controlled Legislature on Nov. 14.

At a news conference earlier Thursday, the Cabinet said that the Legislature's amendments would strain the central government's finances and force it to take on an additional NT$264.6 billion (US$8.43 billion) in debt next year, exceeding the annual borrowing cap.

Under Taiwan's political system, the executive branch can order the Legislature to revisit bills it considers difficult to carry out.

The Cabinet's latest move, pending President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) approval, will mark the Cabinet's eighth such request in just over a year.

The previous seven were all rejected by lawmakers from the KMT and Taiwan People's Party, who together hold a majority in Taiwan's 113-seat Legislature.