Foreword
For Fiscal Year 2004 (hereafter refers to as “this year”), the Central Government General Budget originally designated the annual revenue in the total of NT1,344.9 billion and annual expenditure of NT$1,591.6 billion, yielding a deficit of NT$246.7 billion. Together with debt repayments amounted to NT$56.1 billion, the total financing needed was NT$302.8 billion, reaching a balance through government bond issuance, loans, and surplus from the previous fiscal year. However, Typhoon Mindulle swept through the Nation in the end of June this year (2004), which brought strong wind and torrential rain, causing serious flood damages to residents along the Dali Creek and Nanhu Creek. To expedite solutions to the flood problems, the Executive Yuan thus attempted to allocate funds from the original budget for urgent projects in the restoration project of the above-stated river sections and further added a budget for items that can not be fulfill by the original budget. As a result of the above modification of additional budget, the total annual revenue increased to NT$1,349.5 billion, expenditure increased to NT$1,597.3 billion, and the deficit increased to NT$247.8 billion. Together with debt repayments amounted to NT$56.1 billion, the total financing needed was NT$303.9, made up by government bond issuance and loans (NT$265.0 billion) and surplus from the previous fiscal year (NT$38.9 billion).
Brought about by an economic recovery, the domestic economy yielded a stable growth. Therefore, this year’s Central Government General Annual Report (including additional budgets, the same hereafter) recorded an income surplus in the annual revenue. Plus the fact that the government strived to cut down general costs, the annual revenue was totaled at NT$1,367.6 billion, which carries a revenue surplus in the amount of NT$18.1 billion. The annual expenditure comes to a total of NT$1,565.2 billion, which registers a saving of NT$32.1 billion. In the above implementation results of annual revenue and expenditure, the general expenditure has a remnant balance of NT$66.6 billion. After moving the remnant annual expenditure balance to the account of capital expenditure financial resources, the difference between annual revenue and expenditure was scaled down to NT$197.6 billion. With debt repayments in the amount of NT$56.1 billion, the total financing needed was NT$253.7 billion, balanced through bond issuance and loans (NT$253.5 billion) and surplus from the previous fiscal year (NT$0.2 billion).
The above-stated gap between the annual revenue and expenditure (NT$197.6 billion) was brought closer by NT$50.2 billion as compared to the original deficit (NT$247.8 billion). This result correspondingly lowered the amount of required government bond issuance and loans by NT$1.15 billion and transfers from the previous year surplus by NT$38.7 billion, which shows that the government’s financial position has been notably improved and the deficits was effectively controlled.