Property tax law on houses and cars not considered until the end of... 2019

Secretary General Nguyen Hanh Phuc affirmed that the National Assembly has no policy to consider the draft Law on Property Tax. Photo: Le Kien

Secretary General of the National Assembly Nguyen Hanh Phuc confirmed that he had only learned about this proposal through the noise in the media and social networks in recent days.

"I read that it was just a statement at the department level of the Ministry of Finance. In the process of implementing policies, researching and proposing policies, they can come up with options and proposals. But the problem here is that the way of informing and communicating the message to the outside is not right. This morning I also talked with a deputy minister of the Ministry of Finance about this," said Mr. Phuc.

The Secretary General of the National Assembly affirmed: "There has not been any official proposal to submit such a property tax bill to the National Assembly. Yesterday (April 16), the National Assembly Standing Committee gave its opinion on the content of the law and ordinance building program for 2018 and 2019, and no such bill has been proposed by the Government and relevant agencies."

A draft law can only be placed on the National Assembly's agenda after it has been submitted by the Government or a competent organization or unit, and has gone through many stages in the drafting process such as summarizing the implementation of relevant laws, assessing the impact of the policy, consulting with subjects affected by the policy, and must be included in the National Assembly's law and ordinance making program.

A bill, if proposed by the Government, must be discussed and approved by the Government as a whole before being examined by a committee of the National Assembly and consulted by the National Assembly Standing Committee.

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly has the authority to submit a draft law to the National Assembly for consideration when it fully satisfies the conditions prescribed in the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents.

During the discussion, Deputy Head of the Government Office Nguyen Duy Hung also affirmed that the Government has no schedule to review the draft Law on Property Tax and has no policy to propose that the National Assembly review this bill.

Previously, at the meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on April 16, Mr. Nguyen Duy Hung affirmed the guiding viewpoint of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the Government is to prioritize amending and supplementing draft laws to serve the requirements of administrative reform, simplifying procedures, removing obstacles, and creating favorable conditions for investment, business, and transactions of the people.