Recently, at the second session of the 14th National Assembly, the National Assembly passed 07 resolutions related to various fields such as economy, society, finance, medium-term public investment, state budget, etc., with some noteworthy contents as follows:
Article table of contents
- Resolution 23/2016/QH14 dated November 7, 2016, on the socio-economic development plan for 2017
With various objectives such as economic stabilization, innovation of the growth model, enhancement of productivity and quality, encouragement of entrepreneurship, ensuring social security and caring for people's lives, cultural and educational development, promotion of democracy, and social progress and equality; the Resolution set forth several key targets such as:
- Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of about 6.7%.- Total export turnover increase of 6 - 7%.- Trade deficit ratio to total export turnover of about 3.5%.- Poverty rate reduction according to multi-dimensional poverty standards by 1 - 1.5%, particularly a 4% reduction in poor districts.- Unemployment rate in urban areas below 4%.- Proportion of trained labor force reaching 55 - 57%, of which the proportion of workforce trained for 3 months or more with certifications reaching 22.5%.- Number of hospital beds per ten thousand people reaching 25.5 beds (excluding beds at commune health stations).- Proportion of the population participating in health insurance reaching 82.2%.- …
In general, the National Assembly basically agrees with the tasks and solutions proposed by the Government of Vietnam, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuracy, and the agencies of the National Assembly in their verification reports, as well as the specialized supervision reports, and requests relevant agencies to focus on implementing the tasks and solutions to achieve the set objectives.
- Resolution 24/2016/QH14 dated November 8, 2016, on the economic restructuring plan for the 2016-2020 period
Through Resolution 24/2016/QH14 on the economic restructuring plan for the 2016-2020 period, the Chairman of the National Assembly has a unified viewpoint with the Government of Vietnam's stance on economic restructuring, emphasizing:
- Adherence to the Party's guidelines and policies, especially Resolution 05/NQ-TW dated November 1, 2016, of the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party (12th term);- Focus on organizing and implementing specific solutions and policies measurable by market promptly;- Execution of economic restructuring linked to the reform of the government and administrative apparatus, enhancing the quality of public services;- Efficient execution of free trade agreements (FTAs);- Linking economic growth with environmental protection and restoration according to a green economy model, adapting to climate change.
- Resolution 25/2016/QH14 dated November 9, 2016, on the national 5-year financial plan for the 2016-2020 period
According to the national 5-year financial plan in Resolution 25/2016/QH14, the National Assembly aims for the total state budget revenue in the 2016-2020 period to be about 6,864 trillion VND, an increase of about 1.65 times compared to the previous period (2011-2015); ensuring the budget revenue mobilization rate is not less than 23.5% of GDP, with tax, fee, and charge revenues accounting for about 21% of GDP; the average domestic revenue proportion is about 84-85% of total state budget revenue.
Regarding public debt, ensuring safety with the goal:
- Annual public debt not exceeding 65% of GDP, Government debt not exceeding 54% of GDP, and external debt of the country not exceeding 50% of GDP;- Foreign debt repayment obligations of the country below 25% of total export revenue of goods and services;- Direct debt repayment obligations of the Government not exceeding 25% of annual state budget revenue.
- Resolution 26/2016/QH14 dated November 10, 2016, on the medium-term public investment plan for the 2016-2020 period
As stated in Resolution 26, the National Assembly approved 2 trillion VND for medium-term public investment for the 2016-2020 period. Specifically:
- Central budget capital is 1,120,000 billion VND (foreign capital 300,000 billion VND, domestic capital 820,000 billion VND).- Local budget capital balance is 880,000 billion VND.
Allocating 72,817 billion VND of state budget investment capital to implement 02 national target programs:
- The National Target Program on New Rural Construction is 43,119 billion VND;- The National Target Program on Sustainable Poverty Reduction is 29,698 billion VND.
And allocating 5,000 billion VND for land clearance for the Long Thanh International Airport project, 80,000 billion VND for other important national projects.
- Resolution 27/2016/QH14 dated November 11, 2016, on the state budget estimate for 2017
Adjusting the statutory pay rate to 1,300,000 VND/month is an important content mentioned in Resolution 27/2016/QH14. Accordingly:
- From July 1, 2017, the statutory pay rate will be adjusted from 1,210,000 VND/month to 1,300,000 VND/month, adjusting pensions, social insurance allowances, and preferential allowances for people with meritorious services based on the statutory pay rate.- Ministries, central agencies, and localities based on the allocated state budget estimate self-balance to arrange additional sources for the increase in the statutory pay rate;- The central budget ensures funding for adjusting pensions, social insurance allowances (for subjects guaranteed by the state budget), and preferential allowances for people with meritorious services; supports part of the salary increase for some localities with difficult budgets that cannot balance sources according to the regulations of the Government of Vietnam.
- Resolution 28/2016/QH14 dated November 11, 2016, on amending and supplementing a number of articles of Resolution 55/2010/QH12 on agricultural land use tax exemption and reduction
Resolution 28/2016/QH14 on agricultural land use tax (ALUT) exemption and reduction includes several noteworthy contents. Specifically:
- Amendment of the ALUT exemption for all agricultural land for the following subjects:- Households and individuals assigned land by the state for agricultural production, including land inherited, donated, or transferred with the right to use;- Households and individuals who are members of agricultural cooperatives, state-owned farms, and forestry farms, who have received stable land allocation from cooperatives, state-owned farms, and forestry farms for agricultural production according to the law;- Households and individuals participating in agricultural production contributing their agricultural land use rights to establish agricultural cooperatives in accordance with the Law on Cooperatives.- Addition of ALUT exemptions for agricultural land assigned by the state to economic organizations, political organizations, socio-political organizations, professional socio-political organizations, public service providers, and other units directly using land for agricultural production.- The ALUT exemption period specified in this Resolution is implemented from January 1, 2017, to the end of December 31, 2020.- From January 1, 2017, the regulation on ALUT reduction for the subjects stated in Resolution 55/2010/QH12 will no longer apply.
- Resolution 29/2016/QH14 dated November 14, 2016, on the allocation of the central budget for 2017
Resolution 29/2016/QH14 sets forth the total revenue and expense balance of the central budget for 2017 as follows:
- Total balance revenue is 729,730 billion VND (central budget); 482,450 billion VND (local budget);- Total balance expenditure of the central budget is 902,030 billion VND, of which the estimate is 254,630 billion VND to supplement budget balance, and target-specific supplementation for local budgets.
From this, the plan for the allocation of the 2017 central budget is:
- Allocation of the central budget by each sector and details of each ministry and central agency according to Appendices 1, 2, and 6 attached to this Resolution;- Percentage (%) distribution of revenue sources between the central budget and each province and centrally run city; the balance supplementation and target-specific supplementation from the central budget to local budgets as per Appendices 3, 4, and 6 attached to the Resolution.- Budget surplus, borrowing to cover budget deficits, and borrowing to repay principal (if any) of each locality according to Appendix 5 attached to the Resolution.
