預算法有關歲出概算應排列優先順序條文之研究

國家整體資源有限，而各項需求無窮，如何有效分配資源，關係到國家安全、經濟發展、財政健全及國民福祉等各項政事之均衡發展。因此各項政事及計畫必須排列優先性，事有輕重緩急，重者、急者優先性在前，應先辦理；輕者、緩者優先性在後，俟有餘錢再行辦理。

As national resources are limited but demand for them is limitless, their efficient allocation has a vital bearing on the balance of development among national security, economic development, financial soundness, and public welfare. In 1998, Taiwan’s Budget Act was amended with the addition of Article 43, which stipulates that each government agency must set an order of priority for its budget estimates, for reference in deliberation by the Legislative Yuan and in compilation of the general budget by the relevant central government organs. While the purpose of this provision was sound, there are still some parts of the article that need to be reviewed and improved, which is what this study addresses.
The provisions of Article 43 incorporate zero-based budgeting in concrete form, to assist the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) and the Legislative Yuan to efficiently allocate limited national resources when they respectively compile and deliberate on the central government budget. However, some parts of the article are insufficiently clear, which affects its implementation. For amendment of the article, this paper suggests, inter alia, that government agencies should be the main entities of prioritization, with sub-plans as units of prioritization, to vie with each other for limited national resources. In other words, the article should be amended to provide that each agency sets the order of priority for its proposed spending plans before submitting these to its supervising agency and the DGBAS for review and approval. Such a procedure would comply most closely with the spirit of zero-based budgeting.