HCMC – Some VND15.4 trillion from the State budget has been spent on the battle against the coronavirus pandemic and to offer support for residents affected by the virus to date, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung told a teleconference between the Government and localities on July 2.
Minister Dung said that of the total, VND4.1 trillion was used for Covid-19 infection prevention and control efforts, while the Government spent VND11.3 trillion on reducing taxes or extending tax payment deadlines for 11 million businesses and individuals affected by Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Apart from this, the State budget has extracted over VND1.6 trillion from the backup fund for 2020 to help some localities fight the African swine fever outbreak and to ensure production recovers after the drought and salt intrusion.
Some 13,600 tons of rice from the national reserve have been given to localities hit hard by natural disasters as part of hunger elimination and relief efforts.
Between January and June, the State budget collection reached a mere 44.2% of the estimate or VND668 trillion, down 11% year-on-year. The figure was the lowest since 2013, VnExpress news site reported.
Accordingly, domestic collections inched down by 8% year-on-year, reaching 44.1% of the estimate, while crude oil revenue dropped by 28.5%.
The fall in collections reflected the difficulties plaguing the country’s economy, Dung said.
In the second half of the year, the negative impact from the pandemic is expected to continue to make budget collection difficult, Minister Dung added.
The ministry will continue to work out various measures over taxes and fees to open up a wide door for business and production, he said.
