Defense budget tipped to rise NT$10bnFISCAL 2021: If the funds to purchase 66 F-16 jets from the US were included, the increase in the national defense budget would be 7 percent from a year earlierBy Lee Hsin-fang, Rachel Lin and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writerThe government budget for fiscal 2021 could see national defense spending increase to NT$335.8 billion (US$11.36 billion), up NT$10 billion, or 3 percent, from fiscal 2020, sources said on Friday. The Ministry of National Defense is discussing with the Executive Yuan additional funding to purchase advanced weaponry, they said. Equipment purchases, and maintenance and personnel fees comprise the main expenditures in the defense budget, although details cannot be divulged, an Executive Yuan source said. An official speaking on condition of anonymity said that the increase in the defense budget would be within normal parameters, as an exponential increase would breach the Budget Act (預算法). Tax revenue for fiscal 2021, estimated at NT$2 trillion, down NT$100 billion from fiscal 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, might lead to a deficit, the DGBAS said.

Source: Taipei Times July 25, 2020 15:56 UTC