Taiwan approves 2026 budget after record 266-day delay, keeps $2B drone fund

Taiwan's opposition-controlled legislature has approved the 2026 budget after a record 266-day delay, ending an unprecedented political deadlock that had left the government operating under a provisional spending mechanism, according to local media.

Lawmakers approved total expenditure of about NT$2.987 trillion (around $93 billion) on Friday, cutting roughly NT$48 billion ($1.4 billion) from the NT$3.034 trillion (around $94.79 billion) budget originally proposed by the island government, Focus Taiwan reported on Friday.

A key element of the approved package is NT$63.4 billion (about $2 billion) for drone industry development and procurement.

The funding passed without cuts despite earlier threats by the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) to reduce the allocation by 70%.

The KMT caucus said it abandoned the proposed cuts after determining that the drone development and procurement programs did not overlap in ways that would lead to wasteful spending.

The Cabinet submitted the 2026 budget to the legislature on Aug. 31, 2025.

Under Taiwan's statutory timetable, lawmakers were expected to approve it by the end of November last year, but prolonged political confrontation delayed the process until Friday, making it the latest government budget to pass in Taiwan's history.

The government had relied on provisional budget arrangements to continue paying civil servants, providing social welfare, and maintaining existing programs.

Lawmakers also approved several reductions, including a 60% cut to special allowances for agency heads. Military equipment and facility spending was reduced by 2.5%, while media policy and publicity budgets were cut by 50%, except for legally mandated expenditures.

Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu said the prolonged budget dispute had deepened social divisions and created a constitutional impasse, urging the ruling and opposition parties to pursue greater compromise.