Taiwan Sees Growth in Both Income & Spending Budget for 2015

The Executive Yuan (Cabinet) recently approved a 2015 central government budget that includes increases in both revenues and expenditures: a 5.4% rise in revenues, to NT$1.8 trillion (US$60 billion), and a 2.3% boost in expenditures, to NT$1.96 trillion (US$65.33 billion). This will leave a proposed budget deficit of NT$160.4 billion (US$5.35 billion), down NT$48.9 billion (US$1.63 billion) from 2014.

The government will reportedly increase the budget for public construction by 7.2% and FOR high-tech industry by 6.5%.

S.M. Shih, minister of the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), indicates that the central government's budget for 2015 has been formulated with two objectives in mind: financial balancing, and policy execution.

Although the government expects tax revenues to grow by NT$48.1 billion (US$1.6 billion), or 3.8%, next year, it plans to cut the budget for government agencies by NT$38 billion (US$1.27 billion).

Shih discloses that the government intends to raise debt in the amount of NT$226.4 billion (US$7.55 billion) in 2015, lower than the current year, bringing the debt ratio down to 38% (the ceiling is 40.6%). (JL)