State budget revenue unlikely to reach 2020 plan due to COVID-19: Minister hinh anh 1Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)
 
Hanoi (VNA) - It is unlikely that State budget revenue will reach the 2020 target approved by the National Assembly of over 1.51 quadrillion VND (64.89 billion USD) due to the impact of COVID-19, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung has said.

Vietnam has seen significant declines in State budget revenue since the beginning of the year as a result of business and production stagnation, while the State budget is funding a number of relief packages to recover industries and businesses.

According to the General Statistics Office, as of June 15 State budget revenue totalled 607.1 trillion VND, equivalent to 40.1 percent of the annual target. The figure included 503.8 trillion VND in domestic collection and 20.2 trillion VND from crude oil, equal to 39.9 percent and 57.5 percent of targets, respectively.

This year’s State budget revenue will fall because of low economic growth, plunging oil prices and, in particular, tax cuts introduced to ease the burden on enterprises and household businesses from the outbreak, Dung said.

Many companies have scaled down production in the face of weakening demand and disruptions to supply chains, putting enormous pressure on the State budget, he explained.

The Ministry of Finance has proposed the Government waive or cut taxes and fees to support those affected by COVID-19, worth a total of about 200 trillion VND, he continued, citing a five-month extension for the payment of taxes and land use fees as an example of such measures.

The ministry also suggested providing tax exemptions on imported medical materials and equipment for the COVID-19 response and imports of materials for various industries, including footwear, textiles and garments, processing of agriculture, forestry and fishery products, mechanical engineering, support industries, and automobiles, he added.

Dung further noted that the ministry has put extra effort into restructuring State budget revenues, with the proportion of domestic collections expanding from around 68.7 percent of the total during the 2011-2015 period to 81.5 percent in 2016-2020.

The ministry is set to raise domestic collections to 84 percent of the total this year, he said./.
VNA