The Study on Local Fiscal Autonomy-- Using Hualien County as an Example

• Main Authors: Shu-Tzu Wu, 吳淑姿
• Other Authors: Chin-peng Chu
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2003
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/88101624184064138886

碩士 === 國立東華大學 === 公共行政研究所 === 91 === The Study on Local Fiscal Autonomy--Using Hualien County as an Example Abstract Fiscal autonomy is “The mother of hidden government”, and the thing that moves all areas of government smoothly. Local government needs appropriate financial resources to implement its work. During the democratization process in Taiwan, many problems have surfaced with local self-government. “Local Fiscal Autonomy” is related directly to self-government. Leaders chosen by the people can assist the development of the government and become important focal points. Local Fiscal autonomy should include the autonomy of fiscal revenues and the autonomy of fiscal expenditures. Fiscal expenditures should support those labor and financial goods of the people in order to create greater benefits for the local people. If fiscal revenues can support completely the financial resources needed for fiscal expenditures then we don’t need to worry about the autonomy of fiscal expenditures. The concepts “Sharing the benefits” and “Sharing Budgetary responsibilities” are contrary. Local fiscal autonomy and the amount of financial resources are related. The most goal for all local governments then is to improve the financial resources available. The fining of this study: Law Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures has been amended so that the central government overlooks everything. Local government has no space to interfere. Local government’s income comes mainly from property taxes. Because of the different circumstances that occur in different locations it creates a sense of fiscal inequality. The elasticity of taxes doesn’t meet the needs of taxes. After the amendments of 1999, the annual income from the 21 counties and cities in Taiwan were not enough to meet the expenditures of the local governments. Thus, local government started to decline. During the last few years the annual expenditure growth rate of the local governments has grown faster than the annual income growth rate causing and imbalance in the fiscal budget. Budgets have been stiffened and expenditures of local governments are unable to be controlled locally. Political competition has added to all types of budgetary expanses. Fiscal responsibility is not clear and relying upon the central government for help has caused waste and ineffective spending. Before the downsizing of the provincial government, the central government uniformly allocated an ever-increasing tax base. However, the sum wasn’t large. After the downsizing of the provincial government the amount allocated to the counties and cities has gradually decreased. Uniformly allocated funds were never systemized causing contention between different locales continuously. Uniformly allocated funds from the central government are unable to meet the needs of the local governments needs causing contention between local and central government. During 2001, the average amount of money needed to meet the needs of government continues to grow daily yet the amount of uniformly allocated funds continues to decrease. The central government not only determines how to make the pie, how to cut the pie, and how to eat the pie, but also is unwilling to change the way they control the local government. Cutting taxes and raising financial expenditures is not the answer. It only causes a drastic imbalance in the fiscal budget causing serious problems of local debt and fiscal deficit. Therefore,this Study has made policy recommendation: Through the many levels of legislature, political shortcuts, and local democrative accountability can take the responsibility to increase local fiscal autonomy.