State budget reports need transparency Tu Hoang By Tu Hoang - The Saigon Times Daily HANOI – Reports on the State budget in general should be transparent and publicized, suggested Phung Quoc Hien, head of the National Assembly (NA) Committee for Finance and Budget. Hien made the statement while reading a report appraising the revised Law on State Budget at a session of the NA Standing Committee held on October 2. Review, inspection and audit activities by social organizations and individuals should be provided for in the Law on State Budget. He said that estimates for budget revenue and spending should not be treated as confidential when such reports are submitted to the Assembly and other People’s Councils. Only information related to the nation’s security and defense should be kept confidential, Hien added. Hien also noted that there must be estimates for State budget revenue collection and spending. Therefore, he suggested that a sum cannot be withdrawn from … [Read more...] about State budget reports need transparency
State budget
State budget reform will be a testing process: economist
For many years, the deficit has crossed the prudential limit of 3% of gross domestic product (GDP). The Government has targeted a budget deficit of about 3.5% of GDP for 2017 and 3.7% for 2018, a significant reduction compared to 5.6% in 2016 and over 6% in 2015. However, this reduction happens not as a result of an increase in revenue or decline in spending, but mainly due to a change in calculation wherein, this year onwards, the State budget deficit will not include repayment of the principal. “If we tally all interest and principal repayments, which may reach VND164.7 trillion (US$7.2 billion) this year, the budget deficit is likely be around 6% of the GDP,” he said. He stated that budget deficit happens when spending exceeds revenue. Given that there is little room for increasing revenue, swollen expenditure has a negative impact on the overall budget balance as well as the State’s capacity to allocate productive investments. Despite the Government’s … [Read more...] about State budget reform will be a testing process: economist
PM assigns State budget estimate for 2018
Illustration photo The PM authorized the Minister of Finance to assign the State budget estimate. Adjusting public employees’ basic salary The basic salary for civil servants and public employees will increase to VND 1.39 million (about US$ 61) from the current VND 1.3 million as from July 1, 2018.The new basic salary, used for calculating payrolls and allowances, will apply for public officials, public employees working in State agencies and civil service providers of the Party or the Government, State-funded socio-political organizations and the armed forces.The Prime Minister requires ministries, ministerial-level and Governmental agencies to save spending, streamline their organizations and seek more sources of revenue to pay for the salary raise. Provinces and centrally-run cities must arrange funding for the salary raise using local budget, the regulated 10% saving from regular spending, and other sources in line with … [Read more...] about PM assigns State budget estimate for 2018
PM assigns new State budget estimates, increased basic salary in 2018
Accordingly, the State budget estimates for 2018 have been set for all ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, and other central agencies, in addition to the Vietnam Electricity Group, the Vietnam National Tobacco Corporation and the centrally-run provinces and cities.The PM has authorised the Minister of Finance to assign the State budget estimates through the collection of charges and fees by the above units to the State budget, in addition to the spending for environmental protection activities in the centrally-run provinces and cities, expenses for national-level scientific and technological tasks, and the regular expenditures of national target programmes.During the 2018-2020 period, the Finance Ministry should continue regulating 100% of the collected value added tax and special consumption tax on petrol and oil products from the Nghi Son oil refinery into the central budget, while preserving the percentage of the collected amount of environmental … [Read more...] about PM assigns new State budget estimates, increased basic salary in 2018
State Budget reform will be a testing process
There has been considerable discussion in the media recently about the urgent need to cut the nation’s bulging public workforce because it has become a heavy burden on the State Budget and the economy as a whole.In the long run, the bulky public workforce, combined with pervasive, inefficient investment is the main cause for Viet Nam’s budget deficit in the long run.For man years, the deficit has crossed the prudential limit of 3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). The Government has targeted a budget deficit of about 3.5 per cent of GDP for 2017 and 3.7 per cent for 2018, a significant reduction compared to 5.6 per cent in 2016 and over 6 per cent in 2015.However, this reduction happens not as a result of an increase in revenue or decline in spending, but mainly due to a change in calculation wherein, this year onwards, the State budget deficit will not include repayment of the principal.If we tally all interest and principal repayments, which may reach VND164.7 … [Read more...] about State Budget reform will be a testing process