Yesterday morning, Minister of Finance Vu Van Ninh presented a report on the State budget to the Standing Committee, calling for an increase in the minimum salary for employees of ministries and central offices of 79-82 per cent over existing levels to a range of VND19-30 million (US$970 to $1,500) per year.

The chairman of the National Assembly Committee for Economic Affairs, Ha Van Hien, said that State budget estimates should be calculated based on the projected inflation and currency devaluations.

Priorities also needed to be given to important sectors, mountainous and island areas, ethnic minority areas, and border provinces.

National Assembly Law Committee chairman Nguyen Van Thuan urged fellow lawmakers to review and eliminate wasteful programmes that eat up resources and reduce efficiency. Programmes on poverty reduction and environmental protection, meanwhile, should be prioritised for funding.

In the afternoon, the committee discussed a Government proposal to further reduce or exempt agricultural land from land use fees.

During 2003-10, the Government reduced and exempted over 5 million hectares from such fees at a cost of about VND2.8 trillion ($143 million).

Ninh said that extending such exemptions, extended through 2020,would help improve the lives of farmers and reduce poverty.

Finance and Budget Committee chairman Phung Quoc Hien said that the National Assembly should ensure that the resolution was consistent with other regulations on land use fees and suggested that exemptions focus on specific problem areas rather than be spread to all agricultural land nationwide.

Ethnic Minority Council president Ksor Phuoc also suggested different land use fees for agricultural enterprises, such as those planting coffee, pepper or rubber in the Central Highlands.

"They make a huge profit but don’t hire that much local labour," Phuoc said.

Economics Committee vice chairman Le Quoc Dung disagreed, however, saying that these enterprises brought long-term economic benefits to the region.

Social Affairs Committee chairwoman Truong Thi Mai concurred with Dung’s position but cited cases of a number of foreign-invested companies in agriculture that falsely declare loss while benefiting from price transfering which should not be eligible for the exemption.

Thuan believed that any extension of the exemptions would have to go hand-in-hand with an inventory of agriculture land currently in use nationwide. Any tax reductions or exemptions would then be guaranteed to go to proper uses, with penalties for those making wrongful uses of agricultural land.

National Assembly vice chairman Uong Chu Luu backed a proposal to include land for salt production and land used for research purposes within the scope of the exemption.

During the remainder of the Standing Committee’s session, the committee is slated to discuss proposed revisions to the laws on complaints and denunciations, securities, auditing, human trafficking prevention, and legislative elections.

In addition, the committee will discuss proposed regulations on export labour and the trial abolition of district- and ward-level People’s Councils.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News