TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's fiscal 2025 budget is projected to exceed NT$3 trillion in both expenditures and revenue, setting a record, reports indicate. However, concerns have been raised as national debt continues to escalate, pushing the average per-citizen burden to NT$256,000. Experts caution that rapid spending growth could lead to financial instability.
The budget includes NT$3.1534 trillion in revenue, marking a 15.7% increase from the previous year, and NT$3.1325 trillion in expenditure, up 6.1%. Social welfare holds the largest portion at 26.5%, or NT$831 billion, followed by education, science, and culture at 19.3%, or NT$605 billion. Economic development takes up 17.2%, or NT$538.6 billion, while defense accounts for 14.9%, or NT$467.4 billion.
Joe Chen (陳國樑), chair of the Department of Public Finance (政大財政學系) at National Chengchi University, noted that Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德) emphasized strong financial performance in his budget report to President Lai. Chen highlighted that revenue growth surpassed expenditure growth, leading to a budget surplus with no new special budgets and a lower debt ratio.
Despite these positives, Chen expressed concerns about the sharp rise in government spending, which has climbed from NT$1.9 trillion to more than NT$3 trillion in just eight years. “We expect next year’s economic growth to be around 3.3%, but government expenditure is growing at nearly 10%, which is 9.8%, three times the rate of economic growth. The budget surplus is an illusion,” he said.
Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) Legislator Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) added that the average citizen’s debt, excluding labor insurance costs, now exceeds NT$250,000 and could rise to NT$560,000 if labor insurance liabilities are included. She warned that labor insurance could go bankrupt by 2028.
Legislators and experts are urging the government to address rising debt levels, stressing the burden on citizens and the need for sustainable fiscal policies.