Outstanding Debt of The Central Government Will Top NT$5.27 Trillion in 2013

Taipei, Oct. 16, 2012 (CENS)--Outstanding debt of the central government will top NT$5.27 trillion in 2013, 37.1% of the average GNP in the previous three years, a new high. Premier Sean Chen noted yesterday (Oct. 15) that with the financial shortfall of the central government having shrunk for four consecutive years and the speed of debt increase having slowed down, the government will continue to improve its financial strength.

Speaking at the Legislative Yuan, Chen pointed out that the central government's general budget for 2013 addresses both the need of national development and the medium- and long-term financial stability, contributing to the enhancement of Taiwan's overall competitiveness.

Budgeted income of the central government for 2013 reaches NT$1,730.2 billion and budgeted outlay hits NT$1,944.6 billion, up NT$400 million and NT$5.8 billion over 2012, respectively, resulting in a budget shortfall of NT$214.4 billion. The central government will face a financial shortfall of NT$291.4 billion, after taking NT$77 billion of debt repayment into account. To cover the shortfall, it will incur debt of NT$284.4 billion and appropriate NT$7 billion from budget surplus in previous years.

Chen stressed that after taking special budget into account, the central government's outlay in 2013 will decrease NT$7.5 billion from the 2012 level and the financial shortfall will also drop, for the fourth consecutive year, by NT$7.9 billion.

However, the central government has suffered financial shortfall, ranging from NT$63.1 billion to NT$214.4 billion, for five consecutive years since 2009, which forced it to incur over NT$200 billion of debt annually. Therefore, outstanding debt of the central government has risen continuously.

Chen pointed out that despite limited increase in budgeted outlay for 2013, the government still sets aside NT$191.8 billion of budget for public construction, up 3.6% over the 2012 level, in order to stimulate economic development, under the auspices of the "economic power-up plan." In order to enhance industrial competitiveness and accelerate industrial transformation, it has also appropriated NT$40.3 billion of budget for assisting the development of emerging and smart industries.