>> Government submits supplementary economic report
A Government proposal to allocate VND20.874 trillion (USD1 billion) in state budget revenue to support projects in HCM City and Hanoi has been approved.
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| USD1 billion in budget surplus to go to Hanoi and HCM City |
The National Assembly Standing Committee agreed to the proposal, which would use funds from last year’s budget revenue surplus.
Last year, surplus in Vietnam’s state budget revenue was VND97.67 trillion (USD4.71 billion), 21.2% higher than previous estimates. Of that number, the national budget accounted for VND48.58 trillion (USD2.34 billion), while the rest were surpluses from local governments\' revenues.
The proposal will help to offset the two cities’ budget deficit, resulting from tax reduction policies initiated in 2009, amid the global economic downturn.
The committee has also approved spending of VND8.26 trillion (USD399.03 million) to cut the state budget deficit of 2010 from 6.2% to 5.6%. VND10 trillion (USD483.091 million) will be used to pay off government loans, while another VND10 trillion will go towards balancing this year’s state budget.
Meanwhile, only VND500 billion (USD24.15 million), out of the total VND1.05 trillion (USD50.72 million) recommended by the Government for securing rice reserves, will be used for that purpose.
VND100 billion will be for the Ministry of Defense and the remaining VND200 billion will go towards supporting Kon Tum, Quang Binh and Hai Phong in dealing with the impacts of natural disasters, and other “urgent projects” in those areas.