Delegates of Nghe An delegation gave 3 reasons to agree with the National Assembly to issue a Resolution to pilot a number of special mechanisms and policies for the development of Ho Chi Minh City.

Panorama of the working session on the afternoon of June 8 at Dien Hong Hall, National Assembly House. Photo: Nam An

Speaking at the discussion, delegate Thai Thi An Chung - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Deputy Head of the Nghe An National Assembly Delegation expressed her support and high agreement on the necessity of issuing the above Resolution, first of all to institutionalize Resolution No. 31-NQ/TW dated December 30, 2022 of the Politburo on the direction and tasks of developing Ho Chi Minh City to 2030, with a vision to 2045.

Along with that, Ho Chi Minh City is one of the two largest growth poles of the country, the locomotive leading the development of the Southern key economic zone. This is also a city with an important strategic position of the country and the region.

"Issuing a special mechanism will create conditions for the city to promote its existing strengths and potentials to improve national competitiveness and enhance Vietnam's prestige and position in the international arena," said the delegate from Nghe An.

National Assembly deputies at the working session on the afternoon of June 8 at Dien Hong Hall, National Assembly House. Photo: Phan Hau

Going into some contents of the draft Resolution of the National Assembly on piloting some specific mechanisms and policies for the development of Ho Chi Minh City, related to the proposal to use the city budget to implement important projects and works of regional and inter-regional nature, delegate Thai Thi An Chung said: This is a new mechanism and different from the provisions of the current State Budget Law.

The documents of the 13th National Congress of Delegates have clearly oriented the policy of regional economic development to better exploit and promote the advantages of each region in terms of infrastructure, natural conditions, geopolitical position, economy and human resources.

Regional development linkage is a key task in the 10-year Socio-Economic Development Strategy (2021-2030) and the 5-year Socio-Economic Development Plan (2021-2025).

Investment in regional and inter-regional infrastructure, especially transport infrastructure, not only contributes to increasing trade between localities in the Southeast region, but also helps improve connectivity between Ho Chi Minh City and provinces in the region and between the Southeast region and the whole country to create opportunities for localities to have breakthroughs in socio-economic development.

Delegate Thai Thi An Chung - Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An province spoke at the discussion. Photo: Nam An

Based on that analysis, delegate Thai Thi An Chung agreed with the provisions in the draft Resolution for "The City People's Council to decide on the use of the city budget to implement regional and inter-regional road traffic projects and works located on the administrative boundaries between the city and other localities, national highway and expressway projects passing through the city; support other localities in the country, support some localities in some other countries if necessary".

Regarding the policy to support science and technology activities, innovation and startups in priority areas of Ho Chi Minh City, the Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An reiterated that the questioning content related to the field of science and technology took place on June 7, with a record number of National Assembly deputies registering to question; thereby showing that this is an area that needs a lot of attention.

Through questioning, the National Assembly deputies agreed on the following viewpoint: Science and technology are very important, creating breakthroughs in improving productivity, quality, efficiency and competitiveness of the economy. Only the development of science and technology can help escape the "trap" of outsourcing and low income.

Important as it is, according to the delegate of Nghe An Delegation, there are still many difficulties, obstacles, and limitations in developing and promoting the key role of science and technology. The national innovation system is in the formation stage and is not yet synchronous and effective. Enterprises are not really the center, playing a decisive role in innovation and creativity; the capacity to connect research institutes, universities with enterprises has not yet met practical requirements.

Therefore, the draft Resolution proposes two groups of mechanisms and policies related to science and technology, innovation and creativity, including a group of policies to support innovation, creativity and start-up activities in the city's priority areas and a group of policies on wages and salaries of experts and scientists in performing scientific and technological tasks.

“I agree with these two groups of policies, because the policies to support the development of science, innovative startups and creativity are currently being applied to localities across the country, so some policies are not really suitable for the reality and development speed of the innovative startup ecosystem of big cities, including Ho Chi Minh City,” delegate Thai Thi An Chung analyzed.

Also according to the delegates' viewpoint, the proposed policies in the draft Resolution are practical, consistent with the policy of Resolution No. 31-NQ/TW dated December 30, 2022 of the Politburo on the direction and tasks of developing Ho Chi Minh City to 2030, with a vision to 2045, contributing to attracting and supporting innovative and creative businesses, transforming into an economy based on innovation, creativity, digital transformation and high technology.

At the same time, the adoption of these policies will facilitate the attraction and retention of experts, scientists, people with special talents and creative start-up individuals, contributing to the formation and development of strong research groups in the city's priority areas.

Regarding the exemption of corporate income tax established in the draft Resolution, delegate Thai Thi An Chung expressed her agreement with the exemption of corporate income tax for intermediary organizations supporting startups, but suggested that the same tax exemption period should not be applied to intermediary organizations supporting startups as it is to innovative startups.

On the other hand, because the incubation and development time of an innovative startup can range from 5-15 years, so in order to provide support suitable for each subject and each field, the delegate of the Nghe An Delegation proposed that the draft Resolution should only stipulate a maximum corporate income tax exemption period of no more than 6 years and assign the City People's Council the authority to decide on the specific tax exemption period for each subject and each field.

"In order for the city's specific mechanisms and policies to be implemented effectively, we respectfully request that ministries and branches pay attention to directing and guiding Ho Chi Minh City in implementing them and annually evaluate the implementation to promptly replicate effective mechanisms and policies," said delegate Thai Thi An Chung.

National Assembly deputies vote on the Resolution on the National Assembly's Supervision Program in 2024. Photo: Phan Hau

Before the discussion session, on the 15th working day of the 5th session, the 15th National Assembly passed the Resolution on the National Assembly's Supervision Program in 2024 with 91.30% of delegates voting in favor.