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14173
Tue, 07/29/2008 - 11:03
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https://oananews.org//node/14173
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Ruling camp OKs 47.8 tril. yen spending cap for FY 2009 budget
TOKYO, July 29 Kyodo - The ruling coalition on Monday endorsed a government plan to set a 47.8 trillion yen cap on core policy-related spending in the fiscal 2009 general account budget and earmark about 300 billion yen to deal with priority issues, Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga said.
The authorization by the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the New Komeito party, laid the groundwork for the cap to be formally approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, the minister told reporters.
''Compared with the spending cap of about 47.3 trillion yen in the fiscal 2008 initial state budget, the upper limit will be raised by some 600 billion yen,'' Nukaga said, adding that details of those figures will be fixed by Tuesday.
Nukaga also said ministries and agencies can make budgetary requests on discretionary expenditures such as outlays for public works projects that will amount to up to 125 percent of the spending cap.
The Finance Ministry is scheduled to scrutinize those requests and compile a budget whose outlays will not exceed the cap by late December.
Government sources said that the outlays for priority policy matters will be 330 billion yen in the fiscal 2009 budget, up more than six-fold from 50 billion in the current business year.
Nukaga said senior ruling party members requested in a meeting with Cabinet ministers that the special outlays for key policy areas should cover measures to raise Japan's food self-sufficiency, as the world is now witnessing surges in food and grain prices.
Japan's calorie-based food self-sufficiency ratio in fiscal 2006 was 39 percent.
The minister also said other priority areas will include ways to boost Japan's economic growth potential, efforts to realize a low-carbon society and measures to cope with social security needs.
Meanwhile, the government's key economic panel discussed the government's planned spending cap and decided the guidelines for the fiscal 2009 budget compilation.
The guidelines set by the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy headed by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda include a 3 percent reduction in public works spending from the previous year, and a cutback of 220 billion yen in social security costs from year-before levels to curb their natural increase estimated at 870 billion yen.
As a result of the cutback, social security expenditures are expected to rise 650 billion yen in fiscal 2009 from 21.78 trillion yen earmarked in the fiscal 2008 budget.
Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Hiroko Ota, who is in charge of running the council, said at a press conference that private-sector members of the panel insisted that Fukuda should convey his policies to the Japanese people by presenting the special outlays for key policy areas.
The members said the priority areas should include efforts to tackle environmental problems and the dwindling number of children, according to Ota.
At the panel meeting, four reform-minded private-sector members also called for the streamlining and enhanced transparency of the nation's 21 special account budgets, the total outlays of which amount to 178 trillion yen.
The members from academia and business said in a statement the government should set policies by the year-end on how to trim wasteful spending associated with those accounts' combined 11.2 trillion yen outlays for certain projects.
The special account budgets are set independently from the general account budget, which covers policy-related expenditures, and often have their own specific revenue sources and outlays for specific projects.
The special account budgets include foreign reserves and a pension fund as well as accounts for road construction and patent management.
The four panel members said the special accounts ''lack transparency'' and urged the Finance Ministry to work out measures to promote information disclosure. They also called for the fiscal 2009 budget to be compiled under enhanced disclosure.
The authorization by the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the New Komeito party, laid the groundwork for the cap to be formally approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, the minister told reporters.
''Compared with the spending cap of about 47.3 trillion yen in the fiscal 2008 initial state budget, the upper limit will be raised by some 600 billion yen,'' Nukaga said, adding that details of those figures will be fixed by Tuesday.
Nukaga also said ministries and agencies can make budgetary requests on discretionary expenditures such as outlays for public works projects that will amount to up to 125 percent of the spending cap.
The Finance Ministry is scheduled to scrutinize those requests and compile a budget whose outlays will not exceed the cap by late December.
Government sources said that the outlays for priority policy matters will be 330 billion yen in the fiscal 2009 budget, up more than six-fold from 50 billion in the current business year.
Nukaga said senior ruling party members requested in a meeting with Cabinet ministers that the special outlays for key policy areas should cover measures to raise Japan's food self-sufficiency, as the world is now witnessing surges in food and grain prices.
Japan's calorie-based food self-sufficiency ratio in fiscal 2006 was 39 percent.
The minister also said other priority areas will include ways to boost Japan's economic growth potential, efforts to realize a low-carbon society and measures to cope with social security needs.
Meanwhile, the government's key economic panel discussed the government's planned spending cap and decided the guidelines for the fiscal 2009 budget compilation.
The guidelines set by the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy headed by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda include a 3 percent reduction in public works spending from the previous year, and a cutback of 220 billion yen in social security costs from year-before levels to curb their natural increase estimated at 870 billion yen.
As a result of the cutback, social security expenditures are expected to rise 650 billion yen in fiscal 2009 from 21.78 trillion yen earmarked in the fiscal 2008 budget.
Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Hiroko Ota, who is in charge of running the council, said at a press conference that private-sector members of the panel insisted that Fukuda should convey his policies to the Japanese people by presenting the special outlays for key policy areas.
The members said the priority areas should include efforts to tackle environmental problems and the dwindling number of children, according to Ota.
At the panel meeting, four reform-minded private-sector members also called for the streamlining and enhanced transparency of the nation's 21 special account budgets, the total outlays of which amount to 178 trillion yen.
The members from academia and business said in a statement the government should set policies by the year-end on how to trim wasteful spending associated with those accounts' combined 11.2 trillion yen outlays for certain projects.
The special account budgets are set independently from the general account budget, which covers policy-related expenditures, and often have their own specific revenue sources and outlays for specific projects.
The special account budgets include foreign reserves and a pension fund as well as accounts for road construction and patent management.
The four panel members said the special accounts ''lack transparency'' and urged the Finance Ministry to work out measures to promote information disclosure. They also called for the fiscal 2009 budget to be compiled under enhanced disclosure.
