Taipei Mayor Opposes Central Government's Rental Subsidy Cost-Sharing Plan, Warns of Budget Crunch
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an on Tuesday formally objected to the central government's plan to shift rental subsidy costs to local governments starting in 2027. He stated that Taipei City would need to bear approximately NT$1.9 billion, severely crowding out other municipal budgets, and has sent an official letter urging the central government to maintain the current full-funding mechanism.
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- 📰 Published: June 4, 2026 at 16:44
- 🔍 Collected: June 4, 2026 at 17:05 (21 min after Published)
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(Central News Agency, Taipei, June 4) Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an said on Tuesday that the city government has sent an official letter to the central government, expressing opposition to a proposed change in the rental subsidy funding mechanism and urging the central government to continue bearing the full cost. He warned that the change would otherwise crowd out other Taipei City government budgets.
Mayor Chiang, accompanied by city officials, attended a municipal policy question-and-answer session at the Taipei City Council on Tuesday afternoon. Kuomintang Taipei City Councilor Li Bo-yi raised the issue of rental subsidy funding. Li noted that the funding has been fully subsidized by the central government since 2022, but the Ministry of Interior has indicated it will revert to a central-local cost-sharing mechanism starting in 2027.
Councilor Li stated that the rental subsidy policy has indeed helped many families in Taipei and asked whether the central government had consulted with local governments in advance. Taipei City Department of Urban Development Commissioner Chien Se-fang responded that when the central government notified local governments of a meeting, it informed them during the meeting that local governments would need to share the costs based on their fiscal capacity, with Taipei City bearing 40%.
Councilor Li pressed further, saying the central government's approach was too abrupt and amounted to forcing local governments to accept the plan, and asked if it would crowd out other Taipei City government budgets.
Mayor Chiang responded by expressing his disagreement with the situation and urged the central government to revert to the mechanism in place since 2022, where the central government bears the full cost. He stated that if Taipei City were to bear 40%, the initial estimate is NT$1.9 billion. "It's not NT$900 million, it's NT$1.9 billion," he said, emphasizing that this would place a heavy burden on the Taipei City government.
Mayor Chiang said that not only Taipei City but also other counties and cities across party lines have expressed hope that the central government would consider local fiscal stability. He reiterated his hope that the central government would revert to the existing mechanism, arguing that the central government should not propose policies that force local governments to bear the costs, as this would have very serious consequences for the Taipei City government.
When Councilor Li asked about contingency plans if the Taipei City budget were to be squeezed, Mayor Chiang said the city has already sent an official letter to the central government requesting that the funding revert to central government responsibility. He expressed hope for rational communication, noting that under the central government's tiered system, Taipei City would bear 40%, but the city has its own policies to promote, and an additional burden would lead to budget crowding out. He said he would convey this to the central government.
The National Land Management Agency of the Ministry of Interior released a statement on May 30 explaining that after the amendment of the Fiscal Revenue Allocation Act, the central government's pool of allocable funds will decrease while local governments' disposable funds will increase relatively. Based on the principle of fiscal responsibility matching authority, the agency plans to revert the rental subsidy funding to the central-local cost-sharing mechanism that existed before 2021. Under this mechanism, local governments would bear 10% to 40% of the costs based on their fiscal capacity, jointly supporting renters.
Mayor Chiang, accompanied by city officials, attended a municipal policy question-and-answer session at the Taipei City Council on Tuesday afternoon. Kuomintang Taipei City Councilor Li Bo-yi raised the issue of rental subsidy funding. Li noted that the funding has been fully subsidized by the central government since 2022, but the Ministry of Interior has indicated it will revert to a central-local cost-sharing mechanism starting in 2027.
Councilor Li stated that the rental subsidy policy has indeed helped many families in Taipei and asked whether the central government had consulted with local governments in advance. Taipei City Department of Urban Development Commissioner Chien Se-fang responded that when the central government notified local governments of a meeting, it informed them during the meeting that local governments would need to share the costs based on their fiscal capacity, with Taipei City bearing 40%.
Councilor Li pressed further, saying the central government's approach was too abrupt and amounted to forcing local governments to accept the plan, and asked if it would crowd out other Taipei City government budgets.
Mayor Chiang responded by expressing his disagreement with the situation and urged the central government to revert to the mechanism in place since 2022, where the central government bears the full cost. He stated that if Taipei City were to bear 40%, the initial estimate is NT$1.9 billion. "It's not NT$900 million, it's NT$1.9 billion," he said, emphasizing that this would place a heavy burden on the Taipei City government.
Mayor Chiang said that not only Taipei City but also other counties and cities across party lines have expressed hope that the central government would consider local fiscal stability. He reiterated his hope that the central government would revert to the existing mechanism, arguing that the central government should not propose policies that force local governments to bear the costs, as this would have very serious consequences for the Taipei City government.
When Councilor Li asked about contingency plans if the Taipei City budget were to be squeezed, Mayor Chiang said the city has already sent an official letter to the central government requesting that the funding revert to central government responsibility. He expressed hope for rational communication, noting that under the central government's tiered system, Taipei City would bear 40%, but the city has its own policies to promote, and an additional burden would lead to budget crowding out. He said he would convey this to the central government.
The National Land Management Agency of the Ministry of Interior released a statement on May 30 explaining that after the amendment of the Fiscal Revenue Allocation Act, the central government's pool of allocable funds will decrease while local governments' disposable funds will increase relatively. Based on the principle of fiscal responsibility matching authority, the agency plans to revert the rental subsidy funding to the central-local cost-sharing mechanism that existed before 2021. Under this mechanism, local governments would bear 10% to 40% of the costs based on their fiscal capacity, jointly supporting renters.