Chinese lawmakers have suggested that land sale incomes
collected by local governments should be incorporated into their
budgets to prevent corruption and uncontrolled spending, the
China Youth Daily said Thursday.
Discussing an annual audit report, the lawmakers said the move
would stop local governments from spending unaccountably on
fixed-asset investment and urban infrastructure projects.
The huge income from land sales and rentals had enabled local
governments to spend heavily on big and inappropriate projects, a
major factor in the overheating of the economy, said Zhou
Zhengqing, a member of the Standing Committee of the National
People's Congress.
Lawmaker Huang He said land sale and rentals accounted for 10
percent of the government's fiscal revenue. Most local governments
failed to incorporate this revenue into their budgets so they could
spend the money without control and supervision from central
authorities, he said.
Since they had the total control over the money, local
governments had a strong motivation to sell land, the lawmakers
said.
The annual report by the auditor general released Wednesday
indicates that of the 87 development zones audited last year, 60
were selling land at inappropriately low prices.
Several other lawmakers said the lack of proper controls over
the spending of land sale revenues had led to rampant
corruption.
Lawmaker and former Railway Minister Fu Zhihuan said the
government should look at how to improve the management of land
sale revenues starting from this year.
Any new policy must give the legislative body a greater say in
the management of the money, he said.
(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2006)