Many shortcomings in management, operation and use of the budget

In 2021, more than 97,000 billion VND was spent on epidemic prevention and control and supporting people.

Reporting at the meeting, Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc said that in 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic seriously affected all socio-economic aspects of countries around the world, including Vietnam - a deeply integrated and highly open economy. The disruption of international trade chains caused by the pandemic has strongly impacted domestic economic and financial activities.

In that context, financial policies in 2021 were implemented synchronously and promptly, removing difficulties for businesses and people affected by the epidemic. Therefore, since the end of the third quarter of 2021, economic activities have begun to recover and grow positively, the whole year's macro-economy is assessed to be stable, the major balances of the economy are basically guaranteed; import-export turnover increased sharply, the financial and monetary market is stable, social security is guaranteed, national defense and security are maintained.

The Minister of Finance said that the final state budget revenue increased by 17.2% compared to the estimate; tax and fee revenue alone reached 15.1% of GDP. Domestic revenue increased by 15.9% compared to the estimate, mainly due to an increase in real estate revenue, lottery revenue and other budget revenue; the proportion of domestic revenue to total state budget revenue reached 82.5%.

Regarding budget expenditure settlement, according to the Minister of Finance, this figure also increased by 0.4% compared to the estimate; in which central budget expenditure settlement was 91% compared to the estimate; local budget expenditure settlement was 107% compared to the estimate.

Notably, in 2021, the state budget spent more than VND97,000 billion on epidemic prevention and control and support for people affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, contributing to effective control of the epidemic and ensuring social security.

The work of estimating some revenue items is not accurate.

Presenting the Audit Report at the meeting, Vice Chairwoman of the Finance and Budget Committee Nguyen Thi Phu Ha said that many opinions of the Standing Committee of the Committee believe that, despite being heavily affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, the State Budget revenue settlement achieved the above results, in addition to the reason of prudent budgeting, the high increase in revenues from real estate, securities, crude oil, etc., is the great effort of the entire political system, people, and businesses, in which the results of import-export balance revenue (up 21.2% compared to the estimate) are particularly impressive.

However, many opinions said that in 2021, many policies on tax and fee exemption and reduction were implemented, but the increase in State budget revenue in 2021 was high because the work of estimating some revenue items was not accurate. Opinions suggested that, in the context of difficulty in accurately forecasting State budget revenue estimates, it is necessary to study and amend the State Budget Law to have mechanisms and policies to strictly manage the decentralization and use of increased State budget revenue to ensure strict management of spending and concentrated investment, without spreading and wasting.

Regarding the 0.4% increase in expenditure settlement compared to the estimate, Vice Chairwoman of the Finance and Budget Committee Nguyen Thi Phu Ha also said that the very low State Budget expenditure settlement (including the amount of transferred expenditure) is due to the inaccurate expenditure estimate preparation, low public investment disbursement, and slow implementation of national target programs. The cancellation of the estimate and large transfer of resources causes waste of resources, affecting the implementation of economic policies and social security policies of the State.

Many shortcomings in management, operation and use of the budget have lasted for many years and have not been overcome.

In his concluding remarks, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai emphasized that the National Assembly Standing Committee highly appreciated the Government's efforts in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic seriously affecting all aspects of economic and social life, Vietnam's economic growth rate in 2021 reached 2.58%, unemployment and underemployment rates increased, the lives of workers faced difficulties and had to implement tax exemption and reduction policies and support policies for businesses and people.

Under those conditions, total budget revenue exceeded the estimate by 12.7%, the proportion of domestic revenue reached 82.5% of total State budget revenue, budget expenditure basically ensured the tasks of the State, budget deficit was lower than the estimate assigned by the National Assembly, and State budget revenue and expenditure discipline was gradually improved.

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai said that through the State Audit report, the review report of the Finance and Budget Committee and the opinions of the National Assembly Standing Committee, it was found that there are still many shortcomings in the management, operation and use of the budget that have lasted for many years and have not been overcome. Pointing out a number of shortcomings, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai suggested that the Government should have drastic solutions to handle them.

Especially issues such as: General and unclear data information; unsustainable budget revenue, mainly increasing from revenue from real estate, securities, real estate, oil and gas; slow allocation of capital for regular and investment expenditures; many times of capital adjustment and supplementation, in some cases capital allocation is not in accordance with regulations; there is still a situation of spending not in accordance with norms and regimes...

The Vice Chairman of the National Assembly emphasized that each year has its own characteristics and situations, so reports need to clarify and make timely recommendations to resolve the issues raised, such as amending legal documents, clarifying the responsibilities of leaders, and issues regarding directing the implementation of audit conclusions.

Article and photos: THAO NGUYEN

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