Near 7% of GDP for development
Ha Noi, Feb. 19 (VNA) -- Viet Nam will spend VND 32,860 billion, about USD 2,27 billion, or 6.6 percent of Gross Domestic Product, GDP, for development, while trying to keep budget overspending to less than five percent of GDP this year, says Finance Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung.
"Social investment must reach 30 percent of GDP, including 6.6 percent of GDP for development to ensure a GDP growth rate of 7.5 percent as set by the National Assembly," Hung says in an interview with Ha Noi Moi, New Ha Noi, newspaper today, Feb. 19.
He emphasizes: "The State budget has been restructured as part of efforts to reduce regular spendings and increase development investment which will account for 28.3 percent of total State budget expenditure in 2001.
"State budget investment for capital construction this year will focus mainly on key national projects, particularly those planned to be completed in 2001.
"Priority will be given agricultural and irrigation projects, schemes to overcome the consequences of flooding in the Mekong delta and projects for socio-economic development in remote mountain and poverty-stricken regions as well as counterpart capital invested for ODA projects", he says.
The Finance Minister says the ministry has introduced eight measures to ensure budget revenues - including measures to prevent tax loss and arrears as well as prosecuting smuggling, tax evasion and commercial fraud.
He says: "Total budget revenue reached 108 percent of the yearly plan last year, a year-on-year rise of 6 percent."
He attributes the revenue increase to implementation of the preferential tax policy aimed at encouraging production and business and the adjustment of the Value-Added Tax, VAT, applied to some products as well as the import-export tax rate to conform with price hikes in the international market.--VNA
