State budget collection and expenditure must be made more transparent to the public, with full information released instead of general statistics. —Photo baodauthau.vn

HÀ NỘI — State budget collection and expenditure must be made more transparent to the public, with full information released instead of general statistics, economic experts agreed at a workshop discussing plans for the 2019 State budget on Monday in Hà Nội.

According to Nguyễn Minh Tân, deputy head of the Finance and Budget Division under the National Assembly’s Finance and Budget Committee, State budget collection this year is estimated to exceed the National Assembly’s estimate by 3 per cent, however, State agencies should follow up collection and spending in the last two months of the year because there might be fluctuations.

The State budget depended on unstable elements such as collection from land use, crude oil, imports and exports, he said.

Economist Lê Đăng Doanh said Việt Nam had made efforts in providing State budget statistics to the public but there is still a huge gap between the transparency of Việt Nam and international standards.

“Regular spending of Việt Nam is putting much burden on State budget, exceeding the national budget cap due to the cumbersome State apparatus,” he said.

Việt Nam spends money on unnecessary things, for example, decorations at public areas, welcome gates and banners, leading Doanh to ask if this is practical in the context of a limited State and local budget.

There were other things to invest in like electricity and buildings roads and schools, he said.

Doanh recommended that budget collection from household businesses be reviewed.

According to General Statistics Office, household businesses contribute 32 per cent of National Gross Domestic Product but contribute less than 2 per cent to the State budget.

Many household businesses evade tax, creating a loophole in budget collection, he said.

The finance ministry has publicised a draft plan for the 2019 State budget online for public feedback. The State budget collection next year is estimated to exceed VNĐ1.4 trillion (US$60.9 million), up 3.9 per cent compared to estimated State budget collection this year. — VNS