PERSONNEL COSTS: Legislator Wang Ting-yu said that since the move toward an all-volunteer military began, the problem has been building and no solution is near

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 14, 2018
By: Peng Wan-hsin and Jonathan Chin  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Legislative Yuan Budget Center issued a warning that military personnel costs for the next fiscal year are 53.7 percent of the central government’s personnel budget, the highest in the past five years.

The center’s report for last month, titled Evaluation of the Central Government Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2019, said that the Executive Yuan should find additional sources of funding for the nation’s growing defense budget, a call the center also made the previous month.

The central government’s personnel budget for next year is NT$426.7 billion (US$13.8 billion), of which 155.7 billion, or 36.5 percent, is allocated to the Ministry of National Defense, the report said.

When the Veterans Affairs Council’s budget for military pensions are included, the military’s share of the central government’s personnel costs increases to 53.7 percent, it said.    [FULL  STORY]