Lawmakers pass resolution on five-year financial plan
VGP – With 428 votes of favor (accounting for 86.64%), the National Assembly approved of a resolution on the five-year financial plan in the 2016-2020 period on November 9 in Ha Noi.
The resolution was adopted at the ongoing second meeting of the 14th National Assembly.
Accordingly, it targets to perfect the national financial system; mobilize, distribute, manage, and use financial resources in an effective fashion in line with national socio-economic development requirements and norms; gradually restructure state budget collection and spending; balance accumulation and spending; exercise thrift practice; combat wastefulness; spend public investment sources in an efficient manner; invest in human resource development; properly handle social security issues; safeguard national defense and security; tighten administrative disciplines; accelerate the administrative reform; modernize and strengthen financial supervision; cut and control budget overspending, public and foreign debts; ensure macro-economic stability as well as national financial security.
The resolution strives for a total State budget collection for 2016-2020 at about VND 6.86 quadrillion (US$ 308.7 billion), up around 1.65 times against the
The combined development spending in the period will be no more than VND 2 quadrillion (US$ 90 billion). Of the figure, spending sourced from Government bonds will be VND 260 trillion (US$ 11.7 billion), including VND 60 trillion (US$2.7 billion) left from 2014-2016. Based on reality, the allocation of development expenditures will be considered and decided by the National Assembly in annual State budget estimates.
Budget overspending in the next five years will not exceed 3.9% of GDP. Of the figure, the ceiling of central budget overspending will be capped at 3.7% and local budget overspending at 0.2%.
With that, budget overspending is expected to drop to no more than 3.5% of GDP by 2020, in an effort to balance the State budget and keep public debts within limits.
The resolution also aims to ensure the safety of public debts, which will be no more than 65% of GDP annually. Government debts will not exceed 54% of GDP and foreign debts no more than 50%.
The Government will allocate no more than 25% of annual total budget collection for debt payment.
To achieve these goals, the resolution defines nine groups of tasks and solutions as following:
(1) speeding up the completion of financial institutions and the national financial mechanism in an effort to realize the Constitution; restructuring the management of State budget collection and expenditures towards an outcome-oriented approach meeting international standards; drastically cutting budget overspending;
(2) amending the scale and subjects of tax collection policies to cut down the number of those who receive tax reduction and property tax will be studied for supplementation; maximizing the incorporation of social policies into the tax law; reviewing preferential policies which would affect state budget collection;
(3) reforming budget management; rearranging expenditures; preventing wastefulness;
(4) implementing financial disciplines in state budget collection and spending;
(5) overhauling financing for public agencies
(6) restructuring and raising administration and operation of SOEs;
(7) closely managing public debts within the safe limit;
(8) perfecting the legal system on the financial and insurance market, accounting and auditing services;
(9) accelerating administrative reform in financial area./.
By Kim Loan
