TAINAN (TVBS News) — Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) criticized the recent amendments to the "Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures" (財劃法) on Tuesday (Dec. 24) about the unfair distribution of funds, highlighting the disparity in allocations between Tainan and other regions. The Legislative Yuan passed the amendments last Friday to mixed reception from various local government heads.
Huang pointed out that despite Tainan's population of 1.86 million, the city received only NT$200 million more in allocation than Hualien, which has a population of 320,000. He emphasized the absurdity of the formula, adding that Tainan's area is larger than Changhua's, yet it received less funding despite having 550,000 more residents.
In a Facebook post, Huang criticized the lack of communication with local governments during the amendment process. He stated that the changes disproportionately benefit the northern regions while neglecting the south. The Tainan mayor expressed concern that the new formula affects Tainan's infrastructure projects, such as the metro system, which has a budget of over NT$250 billion.
Huang warned that limited national tax revenue could lead to a crowding-out effect, particularly impacting long-term care needs for Tainan's aging population. Though he supports the amendments, Huang urged for a fairer distribution of resources to reflect local needs and contributions, advocating for justice in fiscal allocation.
