Department of Finance

Organizational Profile
 

Financial policies are designed with a core mission to acquire the financial resources necessary for various city developments as well as to effectively manage and develop municipal property. Driven by a vision to achieve financial viability and to develop Taipei into a city blessed with health and wealth, the Department of Finance (DOF) expects to meet the diverse needs of Taipei citizens by striving for exceptional financial and efficient property management.

To accomplish its mission of providing excellent, effective services, the DOF will undertake strategies such as to incorporate information technology, transform service flow, and to nurture professional talents. Overall, the department wishes to develop policies that will have the most positive impacts from first-rate quality, high efficiency, outstanding service, diverse financial sources, to frequent innovations. Specific initiatives include:

1. Promote computerized financial management for flexible financial adjustments, burden reduction, and better financial administration efficiency.
2. Accelerate development of large-area municipal land by means of long-term lease or superficies that are expected to create stable and sustainable property income as well as to promote local development, generate job opportunities, and create economic and social benefits.
3. Participate in urban renewal through effective use of municipal property; Provide public housing rental and foster superior urban environment
4. Establish property location information systems to improve asset management competency; capitalize on idle land and buildings to strengthen property management.
5. Enhance public awareness of tobacco and alcohol control; Assist businesses to engage in legal operations to improve current local taxation and ensure fair and reasonable taxes.
6. Assist city government departments in the promotion of private participation in infrastructure projects. Fully utilize private-sector vigor and resources to reduce government burden and to improve service efficiency.

The primary mission of the DOF is to finance governmental construction to provide citizens with quality municipal services. In the face of new challenges, it is extremely crucial to plan and execute supreme management training so an excellent service culture can be established.

In recent years, the DOF has been actively focusing on nurturing talents and establishing systems. Through continuous, systematic professional training, the department expects to help employees work smartly, by incorporating, sharing, and applying knowledge, to improve the quality of its financial services.
Moreover, the DOF has amended various regulations to establish operational principles and standards so that services are fully standardized and rationalized.

When human resources are managed in a vibrant manner, government employees are instilled with the belief that useful ideas can come in all forms, no matter big or small, and that innovation, when aligned with public interest, has no limitations. Therefore, public servants are highly encouraged to generate creative thoughts to help improve administrative efficiency. In addition, incorporating private-sector service and marketing philosophy may add further energy into public services, providing better service quality and convenience to citizens.

Given the growing impact of the European debt crisis in 2012, the entire global economy growth has shown lethargic growth, and Taiwan is no exception. To stimulate the national economy, the government has developed the Economic Climate Response Program. Although transactions in the securities and real state markets have decelerated, the tax revenue of Taipei City remains at a stable growth rate. Looking forward, the Department of Finance (DOF) will take a more active role in promoting initiatives and actions based on “finding money,”“making money,” and“saving money.”

For example, the department may exploit municipal property for developmental purposes or explore revenue sources from intangible assets such as naming rights for stadiums and arenas. These financial strategies will help to not only increase the proportion of non-tax revenue but also decrease the debt limit of the Taipei City Government.