Tax procedure reform: From policy to implementation is still "arduous"

Determined to help businesses save more than 200 hours of tax filing each year out of the current total of 537 hours of tax filing, Circular 119/2014/TT-BTC, which has just been issued, is considered by the leaders of the Ministry of Finance to be feasible as it creates favorable conditions for taxpayers and does not affect budget revenue.

However, the path from policy to implementation is still full of "arduous" challenges, requiring efforts from the entire financial sector.

Illustration photo: VNA

Good policy…

Circular No. 119 adjusts information related to the content of 7 Circulars in areas such as personal income tax, corporate income tax, value added tax, invoices and payment forms.

The implementation of Circular 119 will change some contents related to tax declaration forms. For example, Form 01 Value Added Tax Declaration, list of goods and services sold, purchased... are adjusted to reduce unnecessary and inappropriate indicators and columns, helping businesses reduce the time to make tax declarations. Some inappropriate forms such as the list of goods and services sold subject to 0% tax, the list for car and motorbike sellers are adjusted and abolished, businesses do not have to declare anymore...

In particular, the new Circular of the Ministry of Finance has removed the 1 billion VND threshold on the conditions of assets, machinery, equipment invested and purchased for newly established enterprises to voluntarily register to apply the tax deduction method. Regarding the list of invoices for purchased and sold goods and services, the Ministry of Finance said that this agency has removed 12 indicators in these procedures to simplify procedures for enterprises.

According to Deputy Director General of the General Department of Taxation Cao Anh Tuan, the amended and supplemented contents in this Circular will create favorable conditions for people and businesses in the process of production and business activities, helping to simplify tax administrative procedures, thereby reducing the time taxpayers have to spend to complete tax payment procedures.

Many economic experts said that the prompt issuance of Circular 119 right after consulting the business community demonstrated the determination of the Finance sector's leaders in implementing the commitment to reduce the number of hours for businesses to pay taxes from 872 hours to 300 hours and then to 171 hours in 2015. Previously, a report published in mid-June by the World Bank (WB) showed that Vietnamese businesses spend up to 872 hours each year to pay taxes, insurance, etc.

However, there are still concerns surrounding the implementation of the Circular. Because up to now, there have been many good policies and good laws, but in the implementation process, when it comes to businesses and people, it is no longer close to the regulations, especially when society is expecting a lot from the determination to reform the Tax sector.

Need for a Transparent Portal

Deputy Minister of Finance Do Hoang Anh Tuan frankly admitted that many policies were issued but sometimes they were not fully implemented, even violating the interests of businesses. “This is a reality that must be spoken frankly. Policies require two or three documents, but officials sometimes ask for more. Therefore, this time the solution focuses on implementation,” the Deputy Minister emphasized.

Due to the tax sector's large geographical area, Deputy Minister Do Hoang Anh Tuan said that for this Circular to be most effective, the Ministry of Finance must have an information portal that publicly reflects all problems of businesses and localities. To be able to manage, it must be transparent.

In fact, it has been nearly 20 days since the Circular was issued, but according to the reflection of many businesses and localities, they still cannot "understand" all the content even though the General Department of Taxation has organized many training courses in the North and South regions.

According to Deputy Director General of the General Department of Taxation Cao Anh Tuan, tax authorities at all levels need to thoroughly understand the content of Circular 119 to all tax officials and organize training, strengthen propaganda and dissemination to all businesses in the area. Each tax officer must promptly update new tax policies, disseminate, guide and answer questions about tax policies and procedures to taxpayers and the community.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai Yen, Head of the Taxpayer Support and Propaganda Department, Hanoi Tax Department, said that from September 10 to September 20, the Hanoi Tax Department organized 100 training courses for businesses across the area, 12 training courses for over 9,000 businesses under the management of the Hanoi Tax Department Office. At the same time, training was organized simultaneously at 30 district tax branches.

In addition, regarding tax administrative procedures that have been reduced and contents that facilitate taxpayers that have been clearly stipulated in Circular 119, General Director of the General Department of Taxation Bui Van Nam requested tax departments to specify them into their own regulations for implementation.

In addition, to create the most favorable conditions for businesses and people, the General Department of Taxation requests that tax departments publicly announce phone numbers to support and guide businesses and hotline numbers to receive and answer related questions.

Director General Bui Van Nam emphasized that the most specific goal of the Action Plan for administrative procedure reform and facilitation for businesses and people that the General Department of Taxation is aiming for is to strive in 2014 to reduce the time for tax declaration and payment procedures to no more than 300 hours/year, and reduce the number of tax payments to at least the average level of countries in the region.

According to Vietnam+