According to some deputies, policy makers should forecast factors, which can have negative effects on the State budget, such as the ups-and-downs of world oil prices.

Minister of Finance Vu Van Ninh noted that the US financial crisis had affected many countries in the world and many sectors, including world crude oil prices.

State budget collection was originally expected to increase by 23.5 percent, equivalent to VND76 trillion next year with world oil prices predicted at US$90 per barrel, he said.

However, with the world price of crude oil now below US$70 per barrel, and oil export revenues accounting for 28 percent of the State budget, the budget is now likely to lose VND36 trillion if prices remain unchanged.

Minister Ninh said that the Government would have to compensate for the loss by imposing a suitable tax on petroleum import of 25 percent instead of the current 5 percent, and raise import tariffs on diesel and on kerosene to 15 percent and 25 percent from 0 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

Government agencies and ministries were co-operating to build specific compensation strategies to submit to the Government and the NA before the NA adopted the resolution on the State budget for 2009, he added.

Southern An Giang Province’s deputy Mai Thi Anh Tuyet said that the Government should have two or three plans for State budget collection to flexibly cop with different scenarios.

Truong Van Vo, from southern Dong Nai Province, said that balancing the State budget must be accompanied with improving the efficiency of capital management.

Nguyen Van Sy from the central province of Quang Nam suggested that the Government maintain annual bond issuance worth VND30 trillion to ensure State collection in case of economic difficulties.

This source, according to Sy, would ensure investment into transportation, education and healthcare. He said that funds into these fields should not be cut.

He also said that the Ministry of Finance should maintain the expected budget overspending of 4.8 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

Disagreeing with Sy, deputy Hoang Thi Hanh from northern Bac Giang Province said that Vietnam was implementing a tightened fiscal policy, thus the percentage was still high and risked causing further inflation.

Hanh suggested that the Government spend more funds on the agriculture sector, helping farmers and rural areas, especially in building rural infrastructure, applying advanced technology in production and improving human resources in rural areas.

Sy agreed with Hanh, saying that the amount of money distributed to the agricultural sector was not enough to meet demand in this field.

Deputy Nguyen Dang Vang from the central province of Binh Dinh was not satisfied with the low proportion of the country’s science and technology spending, which was only 0.58 percent of the GDP.

He noted that from 1993 to 2006, his province was allocated a total of VND630 trillion or VND48 billion each year to apply science and technology in production. Since the province had 11 million households, it meant that each family was given VND4,400 per year.

This year, the allocation was VND70 billion, which translated to VND6,300 per household.