State budget collection estimated to hit 60.2 billion USD

Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung (Photo: VNA)

State budget collection was estimated to reach almost 1.4 quadrillion VND ND (60.2 billion USD) this year, 6 percent higher than the estimate, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung told a teleconference between the government and localities cities in Hanoi on December 28.

Since the beginning of this year, the financial sector has drastically dealt with delayed tax payment, revised up basic salary, pensions, and subsidies to ex-revolutionaries by 7 percent, tightened discipline in finance-budget in accordance with the Prime Minister’s Directive No.31/CT-TTg.

Spending for development and regular spending accounted for over 27 percent and below 62 percent of the total State expenditures, he said.

he minister admitted that the disbursement of investment remained slow. As of December 31, State capital disbursement reached only 66.6 percent. The disbursement of capital mobilized from government bonds and official development assistance (ODA) capital accounted for nearly 35.5 percent and 40 percent, respectively, he said.

The state budget overspending was estimated at below 3.6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), he said, adding that public debts, government debts and sovereign debts were kept under 61 percent, 52 percent and 49.7 percent of the GDP.

The amount of investments from social insurance funds, investment funds and insurers in government bonds increased by nearly 50 percent this year, Dung said.

Regarding the restructuring of State-owned enterprises, Dung said the State collected 21.6 trillion VND (929 million USD) from initial public offerings of 21 businesses and divested 18.3 trillion VND (787 million USD).

Dung said the sector will strive to increase State budget collection by 3 percent and raise the proportion of revenue from taxes and frees to over 84 percent, cut state budget overspending to below 3.6 percent of the GDP and public debts to about 61 percent of the GDP in 2019.

At the same time, it will rearrange and restructure SOEs, and strengthen openness, transparency and renovate governance of businesses.

VNA