bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Finance minister says Beijing will stick to its 'prudent and stable' fiscal policy

Tax revenue  is set to hit a record 3.9 trillion yuan  this year, powered by robust economic growth,  Finance Minister Jin Renqing  said yesterday.

The total for the first 11 months reached 3.61 trillion yuan, an increase of 24.7 per cent from a year earlier, Mr Jin said at yesterday's annual fiscal work conference.

The past three years have seen the government revenue soaring as the economy records double-digit growth.

Tax revenue broke the 2 trillion yuan mark in 2003 and rose to 2.5 trillion in 2002 and 3.5 trillion in 2005.

'China's fiscal revenue expansion was not only stable, but balanced,' Mr Jin said.

The country would continue to maintain 'a prudent and stable' fiscal policy next year, with an emphasis on cutting the central government's budget deficit 'moderately', Xinhua reported.

Mr Jin did not reveal national expenditure for this financial year,  but  the budget deficit was projected at 295 billion yuan, down 5 billion yuan from last year.

Beijing is also planning to further scale down issuing treasury bonds, from 60 billion yuan this year to 50 billion yuan in 2007.

The reduction - starting from 80 billion yuan last year - was a continuation of the stable fiscal policy that Beijing said was needed to protect China from fluctuations in economic development, Xinhua reported.

Also as part of the  cautious fiscal policy, Beijing plans next year to improve its spending strategy, allocating more governmental expenditure to public facilities and public services in rural areas.

'Government investment ... should lean towards the weak links of economic development,' Mr Jin  said, referring to the country's underdeveloped areas.

About 48 per cent of central government investment went to rural development this year, up three percentage points from 2005, he said.

Mr Jin's comments were echoed last night by Premier Wen Jiabao , who said more funds should be used for public services to 'promote social justice'.

Health services in rural areas, which had been lagging far behind those in cities, would be given a fiscal boost next year, allowing 80 per cent of counties and villages to be covered by a co-operative medicare system, Mr Jin said.

Medical insurance for workers in cities and townships, especially former employees of bankrupt companies, was also among next year's expenditure priorities, he said.

Investment in education, social security, energy conservation, environmental protection and the development of western provinces would be encouraged.

Certain projects that used outdated technology would be prohibited.

Mr Jin also reiterated that the country's 148 million rural school students would be exempt from paying tuition fees.



Tax revenue to hit record 3.9 trillion yuan in 2006