Cabinet approves NT$2.71 trillion 2023 central government budget
ROC Central News Agency
08/25/2022 08:53 PM
Taipei, Aug. 25 (CNA) The Executive Yuan on Thursday approved a NT$2.71 trillion (US$90.01 billion) central government general budget plan for fiscal 2023, with proposed spending on national defense increasing by 12.9 percent to NT$415.1 billion amid tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
The budget plan of NT$2.71 trillion for 2023, with a year-on-year increase of NT$468 billion, or 20.8 percent, will be sent to the Legislature for approval at the end of August, Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said at a press briefing Thursday.
The plan, drafted by the Cabinet's Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), includes NT$415.1 billion in proposed spending on national defense for 2023, an increase of NT$47.5 billion, or 12.9 percent, from the current year.
DGBAS Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) told the press conference that the increase in the defense budget was prompted by "recent developments in cross-strait relations."
There is a need to "scramble our military aircraft and deploy naval vessels" every time the Chinese military conducts sorties or drills near Taiwan, according to Chu, who added that the cost of fuel and maintenance would henceforth increase.
As a result, the planned budget for Ministry of National Defense (MND) operations will rise from NT$106.6 billion in 2022 to NT$133.7 billion for 2023, a rise of 25.4 percent, Chu said.
In the meantime, the proposed spending on military investment and personnel is NT$102.7 billion and NT$178.7 billion, respectively, Chu added.
According to the MND, with additional special budgets and other funds that can be allocated to the ministry, the total planned national defense budget for 2023 will rise to NT$586.3 billion, accounting for roughly 2.4 percent of Taiwan's gross domestic product (GDP), a year-on-year increase of 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet plans to spend NT$715.4 billion on social welfare in 2023, which represents 26.3 percent of the central government general budget, followed by NT$496.2 billion on education, technology and culture (18.2%) and NT$483.1 billion on economic development (17.8%).
In particular, a proposed fund of NT$95.4 billion will be allocated to programs tackling the low birth rate in the country, Lo said at the press conference, a year-on-year increase of 23.5 percent.
Chu also said that as there will be no special budget for disease prevention in 2023, proposed spending on such efforts, including the purchase of vaccines and medication, in the general budget will increase by NT$65.8 billion from the current year to NT$84.5 billion next year.
The government expects to see an increase in total tax revenue and other proceeds of 12.8 percent reaching NT$2.55 trillion in 2023 compared to the current year, according to the Cabinet's budget plan.
The difference between proposed spending and expected revenues, which is about NT$162.6 billion, will be made up through borrowing, the government said.
(By Teng Pei-ju)
Enditem/AW
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