Last year the source of the budgetary revenue was actively increased to provide a financial guarantee for augmenting the independent and Juche character of the national economy, and huge allocation of the budget was made for displaying the advantages of the Korean-style socialist system including the advancement of key construction projects and development of science, technology, education and public health.
Last year the state budgetary revenue was implemented at 101.5 percent, 5.3 percent increase as against the previous year.
Lots of industrial establishments over-fulfilled their state budgetary payment quotas, and provinces, cities and counties made active efforts to manage their own economic life with their own efforts while exploiting their natural and geographical characteristics and preserving the specific features of the local economy. As a result, the plans for local budgetary revenue were implemented at 100.6 percent.
The state budgetary expenditure last year was executed at 99.8 percent.
15.8 percent of the total expenditure was earmarked for increasing the capability of national defence, contributing to development of ultra-modern weaponry system and modernization of munitions production processes.
47.7 percent of the total expenditure went to the development of the national economy for opening up the route of advance of the socialist construction by dint of self-reliance. This helped increase the generation of electricity, prop up the coal industry and step up the drive of putting metal industry and chemical industry on a Juche basis. This also contributed to developing agriculture, fishery and light industrial fields which are of vital significance in improving the standard of people’s living.
Investment in the field of science and technology has increased 8.7 percent as against the previous year, thereby making science, technology and production an integrated whole and propelling the efforts to turn the country’s economy into the knowledge-based one.
The state investment in the construction field has shown 5.9 percent increase as compared with the previous year, financially underpinning the advancement of key construction projects.
36.3 percent of the total expenditure was spent for improving the educational conditions and environment, consolidating the material and technological foundation of the public health and developing socialist culture including sports, art and literature our own way.
There were some drawbacks in executing the state budget last year.
The shortcomings teach a serious lesson that the officials in charge of the economic guidance would not be able to ensure the state unified guidance and strategic management of the economic affairs and that the overall economy would stop short of making a dynamic advance unless they provide revolutionary operation and command from the stand of taking responsibility for their revolutionary tasks before the Party and the people.
The report said that this year we face a heavy task to ensure the closely coordinated economic operation and organization with a view to making the effective use of existing economic foundation true to the important tasks set forth at the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, and thus strengthen the state finance and guarantee the responsible provision of funds needed for the economic development and the betterment of the people’s living. The report went on:
The revenue and expenditure of the state budget for this year were organized with a view to financially guaranteeing our people’s drive to make a break-through head-on for further consolidating the foundation of the self-supporting national economy, stepping up the construction of socialist civilization and increasing the capability of national defence, by adjusting and reinforcing the economy as a whole and concentrating investment in the training of talents and developing science and technology.
The state budgetary revenue is expected to grow 4.2 percent more from last year, out of which the transaction tax, a key source of the budgetary revenue, is to grow 1. 1 percent and the revenue from the profits of state enterprises, another main source of the state budgetary revenue, is to grow 1.2 percent to account for 83.2 percent of the total revenue.
The revenue from the profits of cooperative enterprises is expected to be executed at 100.4 percent, that from real estate rent at 100.1 percent, that from social insurance at 100 percent, that from property sale and price differences at 100.3 percent, that from other sources at 100.2 percent and that from the special economic zones at 100.3 percent. From this year the revenue from the state-invested fixed asset depreciation is to be included in the state budget.
Out of the state budgetary revenue, the budgetary revenue from centrally-run economic field will hold 74. 3 percent and therefore, the revenue from the centrally-run economy would hold a dominating proportion. The provinces, cities and counties would cover expenditure with their own revenue and contribute lots of funds to the centrally-run budget.
The state budgetary expenditure is expected to grow 6 percent as against the previous year.
6.2 percent more fund than last year is to be allocated for economic construction and 47.8 percent of the total expenditure is to be directed to the field.
The expenditure for the fields of the national economy including metal, chemical, electrical power, coal, machine and building materials industries, railway transport, light industry, agriculture and fishery will be increased to be 107.2 percent.
Funds needed for pushing forward key construction projects whose completion is due by this year including Pyongyang General Hospital and installation of an oxygen separator of the Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex are to be provided as planned.
The investment in the field of science and technology is to stand at 109. 5 percent.
Popular policies fund is to be expended to be 105.1 percent in the educational field and 107.4 percent in the public health field as compared with last year. Social and cultural work fund is also to be spent to bring the growth of 5.8 percent in the field of art and literature and the growth of 4.3 percent in the sports field.
15.9 percent of the total state budgetary expenditure is expected to be spent for national defence.
This year a large amount of educational aid fund and stipends will be sent for the children of Koreans in Japan to propel the development of the democratic national education of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan.
The report said that this year’s state budget would be successfully executed so as to financially support the all-people drive for materializing the aspiration and ideal of building a powerful socialist country, under the strategic plan of the WPK. -0-
