Exclusive release: Report on China's Central, Local Budgets [Full Text]
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 18, 2013
Contents
I. Implementation of Central and Local Budgets in 2012
II. Draft Central and Local Budgets for 2013
III. Deepening Fiscal and Tax Reforms and Making Management
More Scientific to Successfully Implement the 2013 Budgets
1. Implementing Policies and Finding Savings
We will carry out all measures for implementing the proactive fiscal policy to promote steady economic growth, economic structural adjustments, and a shift in the economic growth model. We will closely follow and analyze policy outcomes and strive to make policies more targeted, flexible, and forward-looking based on the economic situation. We will implement all tax and fee reduction and exemption policies to reduce the burden on enterprises and individuals. We will give high priority to spending in key areas, limit regular expenditure, and spend money where it can be used most efficiently. We will ensure funding for key areas such as agriculture, education, medical and health care, social security, employment, government-subsidized housing, and public culture and work hard to maintain and improve the quality of people’s lives. We will faithfully comply with the Party Central Committee’s eight-point regulations on improving the conduct of the Party and maintaining close ties with the people, economize in every area, and prevent extravagance and waste. We will tighten our belts; strictly limit regular expenditure and spending on official overseas trips, official vehicles, and official hospitality; tighten control over official cars and spending on meetings and business trips; restrict the construction and remodeling of office buildings and other facilities; further streamline and regulate celebrations, symposiums, forums, and other activities; and strive to reduce administrative costs.
2. Deepening Fiscal and Tax Reforms and Improving Systems and Mechanisms
We will move faster to improve the fiscal system to ensure that the financial resources of central and local governments are commensurate with their respective powers. We will make basic public services equally accessible to all and promote the development of functional zones. We will properly define the powers and spending responsibilities of central and local governments, and find a better way to distribute revenue between them as we replace business tax with VAT. We will improve the transfer payment structure to reduce special transfer payments and optimize the transfer payment system to ensure funds are used more efficiently. We will refine the mechanism for guaranteeing basic funding at the county level and provide more funds for county-level governments to deliver basic public services. We will enhance the system for managing budgetary revenue and expenditure and make budgets more complete, transparent, and effective. We will refine the government budget system, bring all government receipts and expenditures under budgetary management, continue to improve the budget system for government-managed funds, optimize the budget system for state capital operations and further increase spending from their revenue on social security and other areas related to improving people’s lives, and work to establish an institutional framework and a set of standards for the budget management of social insurance funds. We will accelerate the establishment of a mechanism for sharing the proceeds from the transfer of public resources. We will improve the mechanism for releasing government budgets and final accounts and standardize which items should be disclosed and how to do so. We will work hard to introduce a performance-based budget management system and establish in due course a mechanism for applying it throughout the course of budget work. We will reform the tax system to make it more conducive to promoting structural improvements and social fairness. We will expand the pilot project to replace business tax with VAT to more areas, quickly work out a plan to carry out the project in the transportation industry and some modern service industries across the country, and further improve the VAT system. We will reform resource taxes and levy price-based taxes on more resources, refine the excise tax system and consider how to levy excise tax on products that consume excessively high levels of resources or are highly polluting, and work to establish a local tax system. In addition, we will make full use of the role fiscal and tax policies play in adjusting income distribution; support the reform of state-owned enterprises and public institutions as well as the banking, pricing, investment and financing systems; help to steadily improve the socialist market economy; and stimulate the internal vitality and driving force of economic and social development.
3. Strengthening Fiscal Management and Improving Budget Performance
We will strengthen the legal framework for managing public finances. We will cooperate on revising the Budget Law, revise the regulations on enforcing it accordingly in a timely manner, and promote the formulation of fiscal and tax regulations such as a law on the environmental protection tax and the regulations on enforcing the Government Procurement Law. We will make budgets more detailed and scientific, and increase the funds available at the start of the year for budgetary items. We will bolster management of basic expenditures, promote compilation of itemized rolling budgets, and strengthen budget management of state-owned assets allocated by administrative agencies and institutions. We will strengthen the collection and administration of tax and non-tax revenue in accordance with the law, effectively manage the implementation of budgetary expenditures, and make their implementation more timely, balanced, effective, and secure. We will refine the single treasury account system and standardize the management of special fiscal accounts. We will promote performance-based management of budgets, strengthen evaluations of the performance of major expenditures on improving the quality of people’s lives, and use government funds more efficiently. We will improve basic work on fiscal management and its development at the primary level. We will implement accounting norms and systems for public institutions. We will strengthen the management of local government debts; resolutely stop some localities securing financing or guaranteeing the payment of debts in violation of the law and regulations; place in due course revenue and expenditure of local government debts under budgetary management based on type; and establish a mechanism to warn when local government debts get too large. We will strengthen oversight and inspections to ensure that the major decisions, plans, and fiscal and tax policies of the central leadership are effectively implemented, and put China on a firmer and more sustainable fiscal course. We shall willingly accept the oversight of the NPC and listen to comments and suggestions from the CPPCC National Committee with an open mind in order to better manage public finances.
Fellow Deputies,
Successfully implementing the 2013 budgets is of great significance. Under the leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as General Secretary, we need to follow the guidance of Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development; work diligently and forge ahead; steadily promote fiscal development and reform; and make positive contributions to attaining the objectives for economic and social development in 2013 and achieving new victories in establishing a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
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