The National Assembly discusses amendments to the Value Added Tax Law.

Continuing the agenda of the 5th Session of the 13th National Assembly, on the afternoon of May 28th, National Assembly deputies discussed the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Value Added Tax Law.

National Assembly representative Duong Quang Son from Bac Kan province gave his opinion on the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Value Added Tax Law.
(Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

During the discussion in the Assembly Hall on the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Value Added Tax Law, the delegates basically agreed on the necessity of promulgating the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Value Added Tax Law, in order to promptly overcome the limitations of the current Law, ensure the uniformity and consistency of the legal system, and facilitate the implementation process.

Regarding the issue of reducing output value-added tax on the sale, lease, and lease-purchase of housing, Representative Tran Van Huynh (Kien Giang) agreed with the provisions of the draft law and argued that a 50% reduction in output value-added tax for these activities would help alleviate difficulties in the real estate market, support those who genuinely need housing, stimulate consumption, and reduce inventory in the real estate sector.

However, delegates expressed concern that reducing the output value-added tax on the sale, lease, or lease-purchase of apartments with a floor area of ​​less than 70m2 and a selling price of less than 15 million VND/m2 could lead to the subdivision of apartment floor areas, disrupting planning, design, and architecture; increasing population density and affecting urban traffic.

The draft law adds regulations on the threshold for registering for value-added tax using the deduction method. Accordingly, the deduction method will be applied to operating businesses with annual revenue from the sale of goods and provision of services of 1 billion VND or more. Representative Tran Van Huynh suggested that the revenue threshold for tax calculation should be set lower than the government's proposed plan because with a revenue of 1 billion VND/year, the number of businesses subject to the direct calculation method is quite large.

On the other hand, there has been no significant progress in the management and application of value-added tax (VAT) because in Vietnam, although VAT has been applied for a considerable period, the direct calculation method still accounts for a large proportion, failing to meet the goal of "fundamentally implementing the tax deduction method" set out in the Tax Reform Strategy.

According to Representative Do Van Ve (Thai Binh), in reality, all businesses currently apply the tax deduction method. However, each business has different levels of expertise and capacity. Micro-enterprises often face difficulties, complexities, and high costs in applying the deduction method in carrying out tax declaration procedures. The representative suggested that measures to simplify tax collection for this group are needed.

Regarding tax-exempt items, Representative Nguyen Thanh Hai (Hoa Binh) argued that the number of 25 groups of value-added tax-exempt items as proposed in the draft law is too high and inconsistent with the tax reform strategy. The representative cited the objectives set out in the tax reform strategy for the period 2011-2020, which included a reform and amendment aimed at reducing the number of goods and services exempt from value-added tax...

Sharing the same view, delegate Le Minh Hien (Thai Binh) argued that prioritizing more businesses exempt from value-added tax would create more difficulties for sellers and would not provide any incentives for businesses...

According to the program, the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Value Added Tax Law will be voted on and passed by National Assembly deputies at this session.

Also on the afternoon of May 28th, the National Assembly heard the Presentation and the Verification Report on the draft Law on Plant Protection and Quarantine.

According to (VNA) - LT