Consider reducing the burden of fuel taxes and fees

Affirming that the collection of special consumption tax on gasoline is correct and necessary, but according to Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, the Ministry of Finance is reviewing in the spirit of gradually reducing the contribution rate.



Minister Vuong Dinh Hue affirmed that collecting special consumption tax on gasoline is correct.
Photo: Nhat Minh.

Responding to the program "People ask - Ministers answer" of Vietnam Television regarding the issue of price management, especially the collection of 10% special consumption tax on gasoline prices, Minister Vuong Dinh Hue affirmed that this is the right and necessary thing to do.

Because gasoline is a non-renewable fuel and is a commodity that needs to be consumed economically. Countries around the world apply special consumption tax to both of these commodities. Vietnam only applies a tax of 0.1 USD/liter to gasoline, equivalent to Thailand, China and the Philippines and lower than Hong Kong (China - 0.78 USD/liter), India (0.6 USD/liter), Australia (0.4 USD/liter).

“However, in the tax reform program, the Ministry of Finance is also reviewing taxes and fees according to the principle of gradually reducing the mobilization rate to ensure increased consumption and increased investment in production and business,” said the Minister.

Regarding price management in general, the Minister admitted that the sharp increase in CPI in the past two months was largely due to forecasting. “If the forecasting was good, the consumer price index would have increased more steadily each month,” he said. Another reason, according to Minister Hue, is that coordination between ministries, branches, and between the central and local governments is not smooth.

“As for the group of medical services, the joint circular of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance has been in place since early February 2012, but the authority to decide on price adjustments and timing lies with the People's Councils of provinces and centrally run cities,” said the Minister. “If there is good regulation from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance with the provinces, we should avoid September, because that is the time for the school opening, when there is a lot of shopping for education, training, and tuition fees.”

Regarding financial solutions, taxes, and fees for businesses, Minister Vuong Dinh Hue said that by the end of September, the Ministry of Finance had exempted, reduced, and deferred taxes for hundreds of thousands of businesses with a total of nearly 20,000 billion VND.

According to Vn.vnexpress – HV