The Executive Yuan today approved the 2014 central government budget plan as proposed by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS). Under the plan, total revenue is projected to be NT$1.7308 trillion (US$57.79 billion) while total expenditure is budgeted at NT$1.9407 trillion (US$64.80 billion).
Premier Jiang Yi-huah said the spending budget will be allocated to central government agencies as the basis for formulating their own budgetary plans. These individual budgets must then be submitted to the Executive Yuan for a detailed review. If the approved amount is higher or lower than the submitted amount, the DGBAS is authorized to make adjustments as appropriate in order to finalize the overall government budget.
The MOF and DGBAS provided additional details on the 2014 budget plan:
1. Revenue is projected to decline to NT$1.7308 trillion, a decrease of 0.1 percent or NT$2.5 billion from NT$1.7333 trillion in 2013.
2. Expenditure is forecast to reach NT$1.9407 trillion, an increase of 1.7 percent or NT$33.1 billion over this year's amount. Most of this increase can be attributed to expansions to public construction projects and funding for the 12-year national fundamental education system. In particular, public construction spending will be raised by 10 percent or NT$17.5 billion as part of fiscal expansion policies. Augmenting the nation's infrastructure will also lay the foundation for future growth.
3. The deficit from this budget plan will be NT$209.9 billion, which combined with NT$64 billion in principal debts will bring the total budget shortfall to NT$273.9 billion. This entire amount will be covered by borrowing and the issuance of government bonds.
The DGBAS said the agencies' individual budget plans will be reviewed by the Executive Yuan after mid-August, and forwarded to the Legislative Yuan for ratification by the end of August.