| Summary: | 碩士 === 環球科技大學 === 公共事務管理研究所 === 104 === In today's rapid economic development, governments worldwide are facing fiscal challenges. For Taiwan, the fiscal problems of local governments are much more severe than those of the central government. Some townships or cities cannot balance their annual revenues and expenditures through tax collection, even failing to cover basic personnel expenses. This results in significant problems because if a local government’s fiscal system is only able to support its personnel expenses, it will seriously undermine the welfare of the local residents.
Since elected government officials today must fulfill their administrative commitments, it is even more imperative for the central government, without breaching relevant fiscal laws, to supervise and coordinate with local governments to make optimal use of available financial resources. This paper uses a secondary data analysis approach. Budget data and final accounts of years 2005 to 2014 of Dongshi Township are collected and then annual revenues, annual expenditures, and budgets are studied to clarify the various aspects of the deteriorating fiscal situation. Complementary in-depth interviews were conducted to look into the allocation strategies of current local fiscal resources from various perspectives including fiscal laws and regulations, fiscal revenues and expenditures, and local regulations. Dongshi Township relies largely on coordinated allocation of tax collections, and is constrained by unfavorable geographical environment, making it difficult to increase revenue or reduce spending. By regulating its spending based on its income and improving fiscal management, Dongshi Township finally managed to repay its debt of more than 40 million NTD in 2013. This research aims to demonstrate Dongshi Township’s approach as an example and reference for townships in similar conditions.
In order to help resolve resource allocation issues of remote townships, this research suggests the following approach: 1. Revise the “Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures” to increase tax revenue allocation ratios and financial resources for local governments. 2. Establish fair subsidy mechanisms void of excessive human and political interventions. 3. Enact laws regarding employment mechanisms for temporary workers and review staffing structures of government agencies. 4. Enhance fiscal management performance, actively increase revenue and reduce spending, and regulate spending based on income. 5. Appoint instead of elect township mayors and abolish councils. 6. Proactively promote public productive enterprises and developing local features. 7. Reasonably adjust administrative divisions to enable a balanced local development. 8. Proactively execute local tax regulations and the Charges and Fees Act to increase local financial resources.
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