The government should have advanced the time to the first half of the year to submit the budget execution report to the legislators from the previous year, the president of the third standing committee of the Legislative Assembly, Cheang Chi Keong, has remarked. The committee has finished deliberating upon the government’s budget execution report for 2014, signing the opinion letter yesterday. The deliberation will be part of the process of the Macau Government in deciding upon the final amount it is going to allot of its surplus to fiscal reserves. However, legislators say if the government could hand in the report in a timelier manner, their suggestions made after reviewing the report may serve as better reference for the current time. “If the government can present the budget execution report on the previous year earlier, our analysis can be more meaningful and we can better supervise them. It will also be of more use and serve as a better reference for the review of the next year’s budget,” said Mr. Cheang. The city’s surplus slid by nearly 24 per cent year-on-year to MOP94.8 billion for 2014, as public expenditure has grown by 30.5 per cent in the year while the overall revenue of the government dipped 8 per cent. Much of the expenditure has been in supporting ‘regular expenses’ – the expenses on various allowances and subsidies, including its cash-share scheme and the government’s support of the Provident Fund. Nevertheless, the expenses incurred in 2014 did not exceed the MSAR’s budget plan, Mr. Cheang’s committee concluded.
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