臺灣史學界對於劉銘傳（1836-1896）等人自強新政（1886-1891）中財政改革的分析，主流觀點認為其改革的確大量增加了臺灣的歲入，並達成一定程度的財政自主化與理性化。但這些分析缺乏制度面向的歷史考察，也未定義所謂的理性化，因此難以適當定位晚清臺灣財政改革的歷史性質。本文利用晚清臺灣各種史料，依序分析劉銘傳新政時期在田賦、鹽政、釐金與關稅等徵收體制上的改變，並統計改革前後田賦、鹽課、釐金與關稅數額的變化。經由這些定性與定量分析，筆者發現劉銘傳的財政改革雖在某些層面上改變臺灣的稅收體制，增加不少收入，但並未改變家產官僚制的傳統徵收方式。因此，晚清臺灣的財政改革，僅是傳統帝國財政體制框架內的一種內在調整，不具有近代理性化意義。

Regarding Liu Ming-chuan’s financial reform, Taiwanese scholars often claim that this reform increased Taiwan’s financial revenue and to some extent reached its financial-modernization-and-rationalization goal. But, I have discovered that previous analyses of Liu Ming-chuan’s project of fiscal reform lack structural examination of historical and institutional factors, so they cannot properly judge the historical features of the late Qing Taiwanese fiscal reform. Using archives of the late Qing Dynasty, we analyzed the changes on fiscal taxation systems, including land tax, salt administration, likin, and tariffs of Liu Ming-chuan’s New Policy period. Secondly, through quantitative and qualitative analysis of these fiscal reforms, we have found that, though the reform made in the late Qing Dynasty did amply increase tax revenue, it was still limited compared to the amount boosted by the reforms during early Japanese colonial rule. More importantly, the Qing financial reformers did not change the traditional taxation method of patrimonial bureaucracies. Therefore, fiscal reforms in the late Qing period in Taiwan were only internal modifications within the structure of the traditional Qing Dynasty fiscal system, and cannot be viewed as a crucial step to modernization.