The Chinese government is considering the establishment of a
special budget regulation fund to cover possible fiscal revenue
deficiencies, according to a report in the China Business
News.
The newspaper reported that the 50-billion-yuan fund will come
from extra-budgetary fiscal revenue, and the proposal will go
before the National People's Congress for approval in March.
Currently, extra-budgetary fiscal revenue is mainly used to
erase the central government's financial deficits, pay export tax
rebates and enhance transfer payments to less developed
regions.
The paper said the Ministry of Finance would be responsible for
the fund's management, but no official information is
available.
Professor Wang Yongjun, of the Central University of Finance and
Economics, said the government should use the fund as insurance
against natural disasters and economic recession, but not as a
channel to soak up extra-budgetary money.
Extra-budgetary financial revenue should be avoided through
improvement of the budget system and more accurate predictions on
economic development, Wang said.
The country's total fiscal revenue surged 21.9 percent
year-on-year, or 677 billion yuan to a record 3.76 trillion yuan
last year, about 220 billion yuan more than the budgetary revenue
set at the beginning of 2006.
(Xinhua News Agency January 27, 2007)