The Scale and Composition of the Public Budgets in Taipei City: FY1971-FY2011

• Main Authors: Mei-Lien Chou, 周美連
• Other Authors: Tsai-Tsu Su 蘇彩足
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/05634330470582504066

碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 政治學研究所 === 101 === Taipei City is the capital, as well as the political, economic, and cultural center of Taiwan. However, in recent years, it encounters financial difficulties. By 2011, Taipei City had accumulated an outstanding debt of NTD$166.5 billion. On average, each citizen’s liabilities are exceeded NTD$60,000. Regarding the effectiveness of financial allocation, distribution, and stability in long-term governmental policies, this study probes into government revenues and expenditures for Taipei City from 1971 to 2011. From 1971 to 2011, among cumulative revenues of Taipei City, at least 95% are current revenues, while capital revenues are low, which aims to meet the policy of national property, avoids governmental speculation of real estate, and reduces disciplinary action by low prices of public property. According to the classification of sources of revenues of Taipei City, taxes are the main revenues. Financial obstacles have encountered by Taipei City include the slower growth of House Tax and Land Value Increment Tax since 1991. Starting from 2001, in order to meet tax reductions and preferential measures of the central government, the revenue of the Land Value Increment Tax has been significantly lower and Equalization of Land Rights has become much less effective, which aggravated the poverty gap. The tax base of Taxes on property is low, and some enormous amounts had or not been listed as receivable creditors’ right. In addition, some public properties should be appropriately managed. Currently, Taipei City’s own financial sources are reduced by 20%, which seriously influences governmental operations. Revenues of Taipei City between 1971 and 1990 were mostly invested in capital construction. Since 1991, they have tended toward current expenditures, which were mainly the expenditures of Taipei City Government and payrolls for affiliated institutions and schools. According to the analytical results of expenditures of Taipei City, based on function classification, expenditure for education, science, and culture are prior items. However, the obstacles remain in the incomplete legal bases of educational personnel’s salaries, unsatisfying human capital, and low birth rate. Taipei City has a growing aging population and expenditures for social welfare continually increase. Expenditures for economic development are crowded out by expenditures for social welfare, and its percentage of the annual expenditure continues to be reduced. Thus, household incomes decrease, and currently household incomes may even be offset by inflation. Democratic election influences allocation of public resources. In the period of official appointment of mayors, in Taipei City, the top three administrative expenditures were expenditures for economic development, expenditures for education, science, and culture, and expenditures for social welfare. In the period of democratic election of mayors, in sequence the top 3 administrative expenditures are expenditures for education, science, and culture, expenditures for social welfare, and expenditures for economic development. Taipei City continues to have high public liabilities, and the reasons include: 1) politicians do not examine regional characteristics of Taipei City and neglect the implementation of a national housing policy; due to high house prices, residents tend to relocate to other places, which influences the scale and growth of financial revenues; 2) local finance is not independent, and the central government cannot completely follow financial principles; reductions and preferentialism for taxes increases some financial burdens; 3) some politicians treat public resources as political rewards and tools to draw votes; moreover, after the expansion of governmental personnel, it does not properly respond to change, such as the reorganization from business taxes to national taxes; 4) tax revenue is insufficient; Taipei City Government tends to deal with deficits by debts; 5) some construction or current expenditures are unreasonably overspent, and should improve financial allocation, as well as management and information transparency; 6) it is ineffective regarding measures “to increase income and decrease expenditures” and the financial gap cannot be supplemented. The suggestions of this study for the central government and Taipei City Government are as follows: 1. Taipei City Government: 1) Taipei City has an increased aging population and low birth rate, and should facilitate the structural change of population age to respond to medium and long term financial plans; 2) tax bases of some property taxes are too low, thus, medium and long term improvements should be carefully established according to business cycles; 3) planning and execution of significant construction plans should be enhanced, and the transparency of financial information should be improved; 4) revenues from taxes should be recognized on accrual accounting basis; 5) the government should actively defend creditors’ rights and accounts receivable or strive for subsidies from the central government; 6) the government should fulfill management and operation of public property and related regulations, establish plans to deal with misuse, and meet key success factors of outsourcing management and operations, as defined by UNIDO; 7) the enormous scale of personnel expenditures should be reviewed, and organizational reform should be properly executed; 8) the connection between education, employment, and human resources development should be enhanced; the medium and long term educational development policy should be advocated; the sports industry should be promoted to properly use resources; 9) expenditures for social welfare continue to expand; related resources and plans should be integrated; 10) the government should enhance financial stability, establish a regular review mechanism, and examine related sufficient and effective dimensions. 2. Central government 1) The government should immediately review and improve a significant reduction of tax revenues, and increase the poverty gap caused by tax reductions and preferential measures of Land Value Increment Tax, Estate and Gift Taxes; 2) some revenues of Land Value Increment Tax should be amended as sources of national health insurance in order to match Equalization of Land Rights; 3) the government should immediately accomplish a legal basis for educational personnel’s salaries; 4) the predominance of policies of economic development should be promoted, or the principle of macroeconomic equilibrium should be actively concerned with ; 5) the economic or social welfare attributes of policy for the construction of national housing should be clarified as reference for administration; 6) the government should subsidize international urban city development of local government to meet global trends, and enhance the development of model cities.