Hanoi is a major contributor to the state budget as the city remains top nationwide in terms of domestic revenue.

Overview of the meeting. Photo: Thanh Hai

Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung informed during a meeting on the city’s finance-budget situation on August 25.

As of August 20, Hanoi’s state budget revenue stood at VND219 trillion (US$9.35 billion), equivalent to 70.3% of the estimate and up nearly 10% year-on-year, while the spending was estimated at VND40.3 trillion ($1.72 million), or 37.7% of the year’s plan and up 6.6% year-on-year.

For this year, the city expects total budget revenue to reach VND342 trillion ($14.6 billion), up 10% against the target, and over VND101 trillion ($4.31 billion) of expenditure, or 94.8% of the plan.

The city’s Party chief highlighted the efforts of local authorities for positive performance in fulfilling budget revenue targets amid severe Covid-19 impacts.

During the first eight months of 2022, Hanoi’s economy has been firmly on the recovery track with a gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth of 7.79% year-on-year in the six months.

For the coming time, Dung called for greater decentralization of powers among the state apparatus as the city continues to push for administrative reform.

Dung requested the authorities to ensure greater efficiency in the management of public assets and create a steady stream of revenue for the budget.

“More efforts are required to retrieve tax arrears, along with the application of IT in finance and budget management,” Dung said.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the municipal People’s Council noted the priority for Hanoi is to address bottlenecks in the fiscal collection to ensure sustainability in budget management.

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi Party Committee Nguyen Thi Tuyen stressed the necessity to address tax default, and simplify administrative procedures in land auctions.

Tuyen also called for the authorities to continue supporting business households to be formalized and become registered companies.

“The city needs incentive policies for business households to become registered companies and expand the operation, eventually raising budget revenue for the city,” Tuyen said.

Echoing Tuyen’s view, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Tran Sy Thanh said the city is committed to ensuring efficiency in fiscal collection, focusing on decentralization and administrative reform.

“In the long-term, the city would continue to invest in new industrial parks to attract investment capital and support economic growth,” Thanh said.

During the first eight months of 2022, the Hanoi People’s Committee submitted a list of 58 public projects to the municipal People’s Council for review and approval.

For the five-year public investment plan of 2021-2025, Hanoi would focus on the construction and renovation of public schools of national standards, upgrade public health capacity and allocate funds for the preservation of historical and cultural heritages.

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Ha Minh Hai said the city aims to exceed the budget revenue target for 2022 by 5% and disburse at least 90% of the public funds.