HCMC – HCMC is grappling with the prospect of a budget revenue shortfall in the range of 4-5%, equivalent to nearly VND20 trillion, in November and December this year.
Le Duy Minh, director of the HCMC Department of Finance, was warning about this issue at a meeting held on October 30 to discuss socioeconomic conditions and year-end tasks.
According to data from the city’s Statistics Office, total budget revenue in the first 10 months was VND372 trillion, meeting 79.3% of the full-year target and falling 8.1% against the same period last year.
Budget spending is projected to rise by over 37% year-on-year, with investment costs increasing by 31.7% and recurring expenses by 9.4%.
Minh predicted that budget revenue could fall short in the final two months of this year.
“This situation is quite challenging. December normally sees an improvement of 9-10% in budget revenue, while the other months usually achieve 6-7%. Therefore, we are forecasting a revenue deficit of 4-5%, which translates to roughly VND20 trillion, from now until the year-end,” said Minh.
To address these financial challenges and boost revenue, Minh proposed focusing on collecting tax arrears in November and December, which amount to over VND40 trillion.
He suggested that tax and customs authorities intensify efforts to collect these outstanding taxes.
In a bid to support businesses, the city has extended and deferred tax payments since March. By September, these extensions and deferrals amounted to around VND10 trillion, and the city is now striving to recover this amount before the year concludes.
Minh also emphasized that despite difficulties faced by some businesses, there are promising sectors, particularly in e-commerce. Therefore, increased oversight and strict tax management are necessary to prevent tax revenue losses.
The director of the HCMC Department of Planning and Investment, Le Thi Huynh Mai, said measures needed to be taken to improve revenue management, and ensure timely, accurate, and complete tax collection. She recommended that the HCMC Department of Natural Resources and Environment enhance revenue collections from land use.
This year, the city has been assigned a budget revenue target of nearly VND469.7 trillion.
