Full Text: Report on China's central, local budgets

BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The following is the full text of the Report on the Implementation of the Central and Local Budgets for 2009 and on the Draft Central and Local Budgets for 2010, which was submitted for review on March 5, 2010 at the Third Session of the Eleventh National People's Congress and was adopted on March 14:

REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION

OF THE CENTRAL AND LOCAL BUDGETS FOR 2009 AND

ON THE DRAFT CENTRAL AND LOCAL BUDGETS FOR 2010

Third Session of the Eleventh National People's Congress

March 5, 2010

Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China

Fellow Deputies,

The Ministry of Finance has been entrusted by the State Council to submit this report on the implementation of the central and local budgets for 2009 and the draft central and local budgets for 2010 for your deliberation and approval, and for the members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) to provide their comments and suggestions.

I. Implementation of the Central and Local Budgets for 2009

The year 2009 was the most difficult year for our country's economic development since the beginning of the new century. Under the firm leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the people of all our ethnic groups took Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three Represents as their guide, thoroughly applied the Scientific Outlook on Development, comprehensively carried out the central leadership's strategic arrangements, conscientiously implemented the pertinent resolution of the Second Session of the Eleventh National People's Congress (NPC), implemented a proactive fiscal policy and a moderately easy monetary policy, comprehensively implemented and constantly enriched and improved the package plan and the policies and measures for responding to the impact of the global financial crisis, and achieved significant new results in reform, opening up and socialist modernization. On this foundation, the central and local budgets were satisfactorily implemented and new progress was made in the reform and development of public finance.

National revenue was 6.847688 trillion yuan, an increase of 714.653 billion yuan or 11.7% over 2008 (here and below). This consisted of 3.589614 trillion yuan collected by the central government and 3.258074 trillion yuan collected by local governments. The central budget stabilization fund contributed 50.5 billion yuan. National expenditures were 7.587364 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.328098 trillion yuan or 21.2%. They consisted of 1.527984 trillion yuan of central government spending and 6.05938 trillion yuan of local government spending. Local government expenditures carried over to 2010 amounted to 260.824 billion yuan. National expenditures exceeded revenue by 950 billion yuan.

Revenue collected by the central government was 3.589614 trillion yuan, 100.1% of the budgeted figure and an increase of 321.558 billion yuan or 9.8%. The central budget stabilization fund contributed 50.5 billion yuan, raising the total revenue used by the central government to 3.640114 trillion yuan. Expenditures of the central government were 4.390114 trillion yuan, 100.1% of the budgeted figure and an increase of 851.258 billion yuan or 24.1%. They consisted of 1.527984 trillion yuan of central government spending, an increase of 14.5%, and 2.86213 trillion yuan of tax rebates and transfer payments to local governments, up 29.8%. Central government expenditures exceeded revenue, resulting in a budget deficit of 750 billion yuan, which was the budgeted figure. The outstanding balance on government bonds in the central budget at the end of 2009 was 6.023768 trillion yuan, which was under budgeted ceiling of 6.270835 trillion yuan for the year.

Central government tax rebates and transfer payments made to local governments. In 2009, central government tax rebates and transfer payments made to local governments totaled 2.86213 trillion yuan, 99.1% of the budgeted figure. This discrepancy was mainly due to less spending on disaster relief than estimated at the beginning of the year, resulting in a decrease in transfer payments. This total consisted of 494.227 billion yuan of tax rebates, an increase of 48.2%, with the increases coming mainly from implementation of the reform of taxes and fees on refined oil products (according to regulations, the central government is required to rebate increases in sales tax on refined oil products to local governments); 1.131989 trillion yuan of general transfer payments, an increase of 29.4%; 1.235914 trillion yuan of special transfer payments, an increase of 24.1%, the majority of which consisted of increased central government spending for investment and stimulating consumption, which was provided to local governments in the form of subsidies. A total of 39.1% of local government spending came from central government transfer payments.

Revenue of local governments was 6.120204 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.050786 trillion yuan or 20.7%. This consisted of 3.258074 trillion yuan collected by local governments, amounting to 53.2% of total revenue, and 2.86213 trillion yuan of tax rebates and transfer payments from the central government, amounting to 46.8% of total revenue. Local government expenditures were 6.05938 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.134531 trillion yuan or 23%. Local government expenditures carried over to 2010 (mainly because some of the money was not used for its intended purposes in 2009, and a portion of the funds will be used this year for the same purposes) amounted to 260.824 billion yuan. Expenditures exceeded revenue by 200 billion yuan. With the approval of the State Council, the Ministry of Finance offset this shortfall by issuing local government bonds on behalf of local governments.