New financial commander in chief has tough job

Balancing budget revenue is just one of the many tricky challenges facing you this year. Are you up to the challenge?

There will be continued enforcement of the National Assembly’s Resolution 31/2012 on socio-economic development plan 2013, the government’s Resolution 01 on the implementation of socio-economic development plan and state budget estimates in 2013 and Resolution 02 on measures to remove difficulties in production-business, support  the market and clear bad debts.

With such orientations, we will hold on fiscal policy tightening approach, exercise thrift, foster macro-economic stability, strive for a lower inflation rate and an economic growth figure better than in 2012.  

Our top targets would be balancing budget revenue, strengthening fiscal discipline and enhancing openness and transparency through oversight of the state and society.

What will be your priority assignments then?

There will be measures to hike budget amounts, avert a budget deficit, deal with bad debts, drive down budget overspending and exercise budget expenditure thrift.

Furthering fiscal policies to address hardships for production and business,  and tackle bad debts pursuant to Resolution 02 will also be top tasks.

Thirdly, ensuring public debts, national debts and national financial security to be in line with exisiting laws and international standards.

Fourthly, accelerating reforms related to taxes, fees and budget collection to encourage production and consumption so as to strengthen budget collection sources.

Fifthly, hiking price management efficiency, particularly in governing the price of some essential commodities like petroleum, electricity and public services will be essential. Sixthly, in respect to petroleum prices, Decree 84 and the Petroleum Price Stabilisation Fund will be reviewed.

Finally, as for power prices, the price will be gradually adjusted to fit market rules, avoiding causing shocks due to policy management which would hurt people and businesses.

We might fail to meet the budget collection target this year because of the economic slowdown. How can you meet the target of balancing the state budget in 2013?

The first solution is to increase inspections, supervisions and auditing. We will prevent all tax dodging, tax arrears and transfer pricing. In the future, we will tighten legal documents on tax contributions. Secondly, we have to cut unnecessary spending. Last but not least, we have to review all policies for stimulating consumption and industrial production to set a solid foundation for the economy. In the upcoming months, the Ministry of Finance will review all policies related to tax breaks, tax exemptions and reductions.

When you were State General Auditor, the State Audit of Vietnam found significant tax dodging and illegal spending. How will you address this?

One measure is to work closely with related ministries, state agencies to supervise the companies and agencies after releasing auditing results.

If the economic growth is lower than 5.5 per cent this year, tax collection will be affected and it would be hard to ensure the budget overspending of 4.8 per cent as planned. What is the solution?

The economy is still in a fix. However, we need more time for assessing the situation. I think we should outline different scenarios and be well-prepared for all possible contingencies. In my opinion, despite the difficulties, we are determined to reach the target of state budget collection in 2013 as approved by the National Assembly and continue measures to practise thrift.