To strengthen local financial guidance and assist local governments in broadening their revenue sources and improving financial efficiency, the Ministry of Finance （MOF） and the Hualien County Government jointly convened the 2026 Local Finance Conference on the 10th of this month. The fiscal and accounting heads of most local governments attended in person or appointed representatives to attend.

At the conference, Deputy Administrative Minister Juan Ching-Hwa issued awards to top performers in the 2025 Local Government Finance Management Support Scheme. Following the newly implemented Fiscal Revenue and Expenditure Allocation Act （hereinafter referred to as the "FREA Act"）, local governments have seen a substantial increase in their own-source revenues, providing them with greater fiscal capacity. At the same time, however, expenditure levels have continued to expand. He called on local finance and accounting officials to exercise strict oversight and ensure that public funds are spent where they are most needed and can generate the greatest benefits. Local governments are also encouraged to continue implementing measures to increase revenues and reduce expenditures, prioritize debt repayment with additional funds allocated to them, and make prudent plans for the proper use of these resources to avoid inefficient or unnecessary spending.

To promote outstanding examples of revenue generation and cost reduction, and develop new thinking in finance, this meeting facilitated experience sharing by top performers. The Taipei City Government shared its achievements in financial management. The city government has increased property-related revenues through measures such as public auctions, reviewing rental standards, granting superficies rights over city-owned land, and outsourcing operations. It has also improved resource allocation and management efficiency by integrating and reallocating assets based on supply and demand, as well as applying AI-enabled management to non-public-use real estate. In addition, Taipei City has issued social responsibility bonds, creating an innovative financing instrument for the government, and optimized the terms of its treasury agency contracts to enhance the efficiency of city treasury funds. These measures have yielded significant results.

The Changhua County Government shared its experience in debt management. In recent years, the county government has achieved notable results in debt control. To enhance financial efficiency, it has actively implemented various revenue-enhancement and expenditure-reduction measures, including urban land readjustment, granting superficies rights, and reviewing fee-charging standards to increase county treasury revenues. It has also adopted zero-based budgeting to reassess the necessity of individual budget items, regularly reviewed resource allocation, and evaluated the effectiveness of resource utilization based on implementation performance. These measures have contributed to effective debt management.

The Taoyuan City Government, meanwhile, shared its experience in issuing sustainable development bonds. In response to the financing needs associated with the development of the Taoyuan Metro system and social housing, the city government introduced the procedures and implementation of its issuance of sustainable development bonds, thereby creating an innovative government financing instrument. The Ministry of Finance and the heads of local finance authorities expressed their support for and recognition of the experience-sharing presented at the conference.

Finally, the conference included discussions on proposed issues and an exchange of views. Participants exchanged opinions on matters including the allocation of incentives for promoting private participation in infrastructure projects, fiscal capacity classifications, and project-based subsidy programs. Regarding the draft amendment to the FREA Act proposed by the Executive Yuan, an issue of particular concern to local governments, the Ministry of Finance stated that the Executive Yuan submitted the draft amendment to the Legislative Yuan for deliberation on November 20, 2025. The Ministry will continue to work closely with the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, and actively communicate with political party caucuses across the political spectrum in the Legislative Yuan, with the aim of having the bill referred for committee review as soon as possible and completing the legislative process at an early date, thereby ensuring a fairer and more reasonable allocation of fiscal resources between the central and local governments.

News release contact: Section Chief Chen, Chen-Lin

Tel.: （02） 2322-8401、0933757285