State budget collection set at 361.7 billion USD

At a construction site in Hanoi (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – The State budget collection is expected to reach about 8.3 quadrillion VND (361.7 billion USD) under the national financial plan for 2021-2025.

During the ongoing first session in Hanoi, the 15th National Assembly on July 28 adopted a resolution on the national financial plan and public debt borrowing and payment for the 2021-2025 period.  

Specific targets

The overall goal of the tesolution is effectively pooling, allocating, managing and using resources for socio-economic development while ensuring macro-economic stability, promoting economic growth, dealing with social welfare issues, consolidating national defence-security, actively integrating into the global economy, and strengthening decentralisation.

Specifically, the State budget collection will hit nearly 8.3 quadrillion VND (361.7 billion USD). Revenue to the State budget will not be lower than 16 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) while the State expenditure will reach about 10.26 quadrillion VND. Regular spending will be reduced to about 60 percent of the total.

Overspending is expected to be below 3.7 percent of the GDP during the period. The total loans will stay at over 3 quadrillion VND, some 2.9 quadrillion VND of which will be borrowed by the State budget.

NA deputies vote on the resolution (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Other tasks for the period include further restructuring the State budget, increasing sustainable collection sources, cutting regular spending to raise investments in development, ensuring the main role of the central budget, stepping up decentralisation, closely monitoring public debts, and maintaining the security and safety of the national financial sector.

Development investment up 29 percent

The NA Standing Committee said cutting regular spending should follow a roadmap and go in tandem with personnel reduction, apparatus rearrangement and the adjustment of prices and fees of public services.

The Committee suggested the Government revise and supplement laws on tax policies, step up tax management, perfect guidelines on e-commerce and trade on digital platforms as well as transfer pricing, and pay attention to revenue from land, natural and mineral resources.

It also proposed the Government strive to increase revenues to the State budget, cut down regular spending to 60 percent of the State budget and increase spending on development investment to 29 percent.

To that end, the NA said it is a must to quickly amend and complete relevant policies to restructure budget collection sources, while stepping up measures to prevent losses and reduce tax debts.

According to the resolution, it is necessary to tighten regulations on State finance and budget, public debts, and public asset management; and intensify inspections, supervisions and audit activities.

Audit results produced by the State Audit Office of Vietnam should be used as a basis to approve State budget balance, as well as local budget balance of cities and provinces annually, it says.

The resolution also mentions enhancing the fight against corruption and wastefulness in the management and use of public assets, promoting responsibility of leaders, and strictly handling organisations and individuals that violate legal regulations.

NA Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Hai (Photo: VietnamPlus)

NA Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Hai pointed out the fact that central budget collection during the 2016-2020 period failed to reach the set target due to decreases in collections from crude oil and export-import activities.

Given this, the NA Standing Committee has collected opinions from deputies to add tasks and solutions for the next period to the resolution in order to promote the main role of the central budget and improve the collection structure, according to the official.

The Committee also asked the Government to take effective measures to promptly contain the COVID-19 pandemic outbreaks, restore the national economy, and work to prevent losses and to increase budget collection, Hai said. /.