1989年之前，臺灣的財政赤字很微小，由於歷年來政府勵行嚴謹的財政政策，各級政府債務餘額佔GNP的比率在1988年時只有5.81%而已。但到1989年以後因為公共設施保留地徵收，結構性因素及公共選擇因素，使財政赤字大幅攀升。債務總額自1988年的新臺幣1,526億元增加到1999年的23,880億元。巨額財政赤字所產生的排擠效果使臺灣經濟大受影響。因此財政改革的呼籲不斷，諸如依零基預算精神而實施總額預算制度，精簡政府層級及稅制改革。財政改革在社會經濟改革工程中佔很重要的地位。因此，民意的支持對臺灣經濟具有關鍵性的重要地位。

　　　　　Before 1989 budget deficits are small in Taiwan. The debts/GNP ratio is as small as 5.81% in 1988 since the government sector implemented austere fiscal policies in the past decades. But, budget deficits have soared after 1989 due to the procurement of public use land during 1989-1994, the Wagner's law of government size, and adverse public choice factors. Public debts are piled up from NT$152.6 billions in 1988 to NT$2458.0 billions in 1999. These voluminous government debts incur crowding out effect so that the Taiwan economy slumped in the past years. Fiscal reforms are taken to stop the accumulation of debt. These are total sum budget system on zero-base idea, the abolishment of provincial level of government to improve economic efficiency of the economy, and tax reforms. Fiscal reform as a social economic engineering plays an important role to economic development in Taiwan. That is why citizens' popular support to fiscal reform is decisive to the Taiwan economy.