The Cabinet has given the green light for the central government’s fiscal budget for 2015.
The budget, accepted on Monday, will be submitted to the legislature by the end of August for final approval.
Under the budget plan, the government is expected to receive revenues of 1.79 trillion Taiwan dollars (US$60 billion) next year, up 5.4% from this year. Expenditures will also grow by 2.3% to 1.95 trillion Taiwan dollars (US$65 billion) compared with this year. To balance revenues and expenditures, the Cabinet will issue government bonds and borrow money as well.
Speaking Thursday, Cabinet spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun quoted Premier Jiang Yi-huah.
“The increased expenditures will be mostly spent in key areas like infrastructure, science and technological development, education and social welfare,"said Sun.
"The fiscal budget underlines the government’s determination to actively boost economic development and care for the disadvantaged while mapping out a well-rounded plan.”
Social welfare will make up 22.5% of government expenditures in 2015, followed by education, science and culture at 19.7%. The third largest portion of the budget, 15.9%, will go to defense.