Lê Duy Minh, director of HCM City Finance Department, speaks at a meeting on the city's socio-economic tasks for the last two months of 2023. Photo courtesy of the HCM City Media Centre

HCM City is facing challenges in achieving its budget revenue target for 2023 due to difficulties faced by businesses and its implementation of financial support policies.

Speaking at a meeting on Monday, Lê Duy Minh, director of the city’s Finance Department, said the city currently had a budget deficit of 4-5 per cent, or VNĐ20 trillion, in the last two months.

“The city is unlikely to meet its revenue target for the year,” Minh said. 

The city’s implementation of financial support policies, such as tax deferrals and extensions, has further impacted its revenue collection. 

In addition, the decline in all components of budget revenue, including domestic revenue, crude oil revenue, and imports and exports, has also contributed to the city’s budget shortfall. 

To address the issue, the city should focus on collecting tax arrears amounting to over VNĐ40 trillion in the remaining months of the year, according to Minh.

For 2023, the city has been assigned a budget revenue target of nearly VNĐ470 trillion. 

Last year, its total budget revenue was more than VNĐ471.5 trillion, which exceeded the target estimate by 122 per cent and was up 23.6 per cent year-on-year. — VNS