New Taipei City has approved a record budget that spends more than it takes in, leaving the city to borrow to cover the gap — a warning sign for local finances across Taiwan.

• The city plans to spend NT$270.1 billion next year against NT$256.8 billion in income, a shortfall of NT$13.3 billion that will be filled by borrowing.
• New Taipei expects NT$10.6 billion more from the central government's tax-sharing pot, but new spending on school lunches and senior transit cards already eats up about that much.
• Per person, New Taipei gets the smallest share of that central tax money of any major city — half what Taipei receives, and the lowest in the country.
• Big transit projects are the squeeze: the city is on the hook for NT$425.1 billion for its metro expansion, with NT$12 billion budgeted next year alone.
• Mayor Hou Yu-ih wants the central government to stop cutting subsidy rates mid-year, saying surprise cuts wreck city plans already in motion.

Outlook: The budget now goes to the city council, and the fight over how Taiwan splits tax money between the central government and the cities is likely to sharpen.