Vietnamese Finance Minister Ho Duc Phoc revealed in a meeting with the National Assembly Standing Committee on September 16 that the state budget is very tight, to the point of “almost no money left.”
According to Mr. Phoc, tax revenue has halved due to blockade and social distancing measures which were deployed to combat the CVOID-19 epidemic.
In which, most notably, Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces with many industrial zones in the south, which are the largest source of tax in the country, are being hardest hit by the epidemic.
According to Mr. Phoc, the tight budget has made it difficult to provide anti-epidemic costs for the police and army. However, in fact, this year alone, the government has twice provided the anti-epidemic budget to the Ministry of Public Security with a total amount of VND689 billion ($29.6 million).
Information on the state budget was given by the Minister of Finance in the context of business support packages and programs being discussed, through which it can be understood that the State’s ability to support enterprises is very limited due to tight financial situation.
However, Mr. Phuc also said that the most urgent thing right now is to find ways to help businesses return to operation as soon as possible.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
