In response to public concerns about comments from the final audit report on the 2023 central government by the National Audit Office, as well as press conferences held by the Taiwan People's Party and Kuomintang criticizing the government's practice of borrowing for various special budgets, the normalization of special budgets, and allegations of fraudulent accounting, all of which undermine fiscal discipline, the Ministry of Finance hereby reiterates the following explanations:
　　Both special budgets and the general budget adhere to the statutory budgetary procedures, subject to oversight by the Legislative Yuan and the National Audit Office. Special budgets are compiled on a yearly or phased basis in accordance with the law, and are executed in line with the planned schedule for each year. Borrowing is not conducted all at once in its entirety. Furthermore, with regard to controlled borrowing limits, all borrowing has been taken into account. Therefore, there are absolutely no instances of falsified accounting, and all pertinent debt information is transparently disclosed under the collective supervision of the public.
　　The central government has been actively promoting cost-cutting and source-broadening measures. Starting from 2017, the final audit accounts of the central government have achieved surpluses for six consecutive years. Since 2018, the initially allocated borrowing budget has remained entirely unused, and allocated debt repayments have been fully paid off. Concurrently, the Ministry of Finance has also increased the debt repayment based on revenue execution in accordance with the regulations of the Public Debt Act, in order to slow down the accumulation of debt. From 2018 to 2022, the total actual repayments for the general budget have reached NT$522.7 billion. The long-term debt-to-GDP ratio of the central government has decreased from 36.3% in 2012 to 29.3% in 2022. As of the end of July 2023, the actual debt-to-GDP ratio stands at 27.2%.
　　Furthermore, borrowing to support major infrastructure projects through government investment can stimulate domestic economic growth. This, in turn, can increase government tax revenue and enhanced fiscal capacity. The construction assets will also be inherited by future generations, benefiting our descendants and aligning with intergenerational equity principles.
　　In 2021 and 2022, three major international credit rating agencies, namely Fitch, Moody's, and Standard & Poor's, upgraded our country's credit ratings or provided positive assessments. According to the "2023 World Competitiveness Yearbook" published by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), our country's "fiscal situation" advanced by 4 places to reach the 6th position. This improvement reflects the government's continuous reduction of borrowing and increased debt repayment, contributing to sound fiscal management.

Contact Person: Director Wang, Shu-Yi; Director; Huang, Chin-Wen
Contact number: +886-2-2322-8068; +886-2-2322-8022