Full text: Report on China's central, local budgets(10)

2) Implementation of main items in local budgets

Main revenue items

Domestic VAT revenue was 598.925 billion yuan, up 15.3%; business tax revenue, 1.350405 trillion yuan, up 22.7%; corporate income tax revenue, 673.854 billion yuan, up 33.5%; individual income tax revenue, 242.103 billion yuan, up 25.2%; revenue from urban construction and maintenance tax, 260.809 billion yuan, up 50.2%; deed transfer tax revenue, 276.361 billion yuan, up 12.1%; and non-tax revenue, 1.134275 trillion yuan, up 43.4%.

Main expenditure items

Local governments spent 1.511706 trillion yuan on education altogether, up 27.8%; 186.423 billion yuan on science and technology, up 17.3%; 170.158 billion yuan on culture, sports, and media, up 22.2%; 629.617 billion yuan on medical and health care, up 33.1%; 1.064141 trillion yuan on social security and employment, up 22.6%; 349.367 billion yuan on guaranteeing housing, up 75.5%; 947.349 billion yuan on agriculture, forestry, and water conservancy, up 22.4%; 764.101 billion yuan on urban and rural community affairs, up 27.8%; and 714.126 billion yuan on transportation, up 78.6%. The above expenditures include appropriations of local governments using tax rebates and transfer payments from the central government.

An analysis of the above expenditures shows that in 2011 governments at all levels spent a total of 3.8108 trillion yuan, a 30.3% increase, in areas that have a direct bearing on people's wellbeing, namely education, medical and health care, social security, employment, guaranteeing adequate housing, and culture; and 3.5629 trillion yuan in areas that are closely related to people's lives, such as agriculture, water conservancy, public transportation, energy conservation, environmental protection, and urban and rural community affairs. Government spending on agriculture, rural areas, and farmers totaled 2.9342 trillion yuan, up 21.2%. This figure consists of 1.0393 trillion yuan for supporting agricultural production; 143.9 billion yuan in direct subsidies to grain growers, general subsidies for agricultural supplies, subsidies for superior crop varieties, and subsidies for purchasing agricultural machinery; 1.624 trillion yuan for developing rural education, health, and other social programs; and 127 billion yuan for expenses related to stockpiling agricultural products and associated interest payments. It should be noted that expenditure on ensuring and improving living standards or on agriculture, rural areas, and farmers do not constitute separate budgetary items. For ease of deliberation, we have combined all expenditure items concerned, so there is some overlap in the statement of expenditure.