Minister of State Liu Kun: In order to cope with the downward pressure on the economy, it will continue to increase the scale of infrastructure

Release time：Mar 26, 2019 From：anonymous

On March 24, Minister of Finance Liu Kun said at the "China Development High-Level Forum" that due to factors such as larger tax cuts and fee reductions, China's fiscal revenue growth will slow down this year, and the central government will reduce general expenditures. Faced with the pressure of revenue and expenditure, it will ensure that every penny is spent and safe. In response to the downward pressure on the economy, it will continue to increase the scale of infrastructure, support new energy vehicles, and tap the potential of rural consumption.

This year, the total amount of tax reductions and reductions in China will reach nearly 2 trillion yuan. Liu Kun pointed out that it is necessary to ensure that taxes and fees for all industries are only reduced. The urban workers' pension insurance payment standard will be lowered, and the localities can be reduced to 16%. The company will continue to clean up and regulate the fees charged by enterprises, and release water and fish.

Large-scale tax cuts and reductions will put some pressure on how to balance fiscal revenue and expenditure. Liu Kun pointed out that this year we must fully implement budget performance management, "every penny is spent and safe." At the same time, we must resolutely stop the people's livelihood policy that transcends the stage of development and financial resources, and build on a more consolidated and more secure basis. Liu Kun said that the fiscal expenditure in 2019 exceeded 23 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.5%. This year, the fiscal deficit will be 2.3 trillion yuan, and the deficit rate will be moderately increased to 2.8%. In addition, local special bonds will be added to 2.15 trillion yuan.

When talking about local debt issues, Liu Kun said that it is necessary to speed up the issuance and use of local government bonds, and strive to issue a new local government debt limit of 3.08 trillion yuan before the end of September, and urge local governments to speed up the allocation of funds and use them on projects in a timely manner. Give full play to the positive role of stabilizing local investment and expanding domestic demand.

Liu Kun said that at the end of 2018, the local government debt balance was 18.39 trillion yuan, and the debt ratio was 76.6%, far below the internationally popular warning line. The debt risk was generally controllable. This year, we will prevent and control the local government debt risk, resolutely curb the increase in implicit debt, and will find that together with the lawful and illegal debt financing, we will find together, accountability, notification, lifelong accountability, and investigation responsibility. It will also properly handle the hidden debt stocks and urge high-risk cities and counties to reduce the size of hidden debts as soon as possible and reduce the level of debt risk.

According to CCTV, the annual China Development Forum is the first national-level large-scale international forum after the two national conferences. It is also a platform for two-way communication between China and the world, enhancing mutual trust and strengthening cooperation. (Source: Wall Street News)