 A delegate at the Guangdong local People's Congress complained about their local fiscal system. They reached their goal to finish a renovation job by using only part of the budget. But when they returned the rest of the money back to the municipal government they were accused of having not done a good job since there was so much money left over. This story has drawn heated discussion in the media.
Now let's take a look at what the media has to say on this.
Reporter:
A writer from Beijing News says this kind of peculiar phenomenon regarding the fiscal system has become more common these years. Usually fiscal revenue should be decided by fiscal budget, but many local municipal governments have adopted a reversed process. Thus, fiscal budget and fiscal revenue are both under double standards. They can not restrict each other in this system. If the local government can not use the entire budget they get from the upper level government, then they need to return the rest of the money back. But next year, they can not get as much as before. Many local governments spend much more time in proposing projects that would win them more budget next year rather than focusing on how to carry out these projects in economical ways.
An opinion from Xinhua.net says the purpose of fiscal management is to limit the cost of the government, but now it has become a tool to encourage people to waste money. Many problems exist in the current fiscal management system. Fiscal budget needs to be calculated in a scientific way. The current popular international testing system of fiscal management is the mode of budget outturn. The government can focus on whether the money has been used effectively rather than telling each department how to use the money.
A voice from Procuratorial Daily points out that the fiscal revenue and budget need to be more transparent to the public. The revenue is all from taxpayers, who have no idea where the money is going to be used and how it's being used. The public has the right to know all these facts. This way, fiscal management can be under strict supervision to avoid wasting people's money.
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