Hundreds of billions for support

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in Vietnam negatively affecting the socio-economic situation, the Ministry of Finance has closely monitored developments, collected and synthesized solutions applied in many countries. At the same time, on the basis of reviewing the current legal system to promptly implement many support solutions appropriate with the actual conditions.

Looking back at 2020, the Ministry of Finance submitted to competent authorities and promulgated many support solutions on extending the time for paying taxes (value-added tax, corporate income tax, personal income tax, excise tax) and land rent in accordance with its jurisdiction. At the same time, the Ministry of Finance has proposed exemption and reduction of taxes (corporate income tax, personal income tax, import duty, environmental protection tax), fees, charges and land rent.

According to statistics of the Ministry of Finance, the total value of support from these policies is about VND129 trillion. In particular, the amount to be extended is about VND97.5 trillion; the amount to be exempted or reduced is about VND31.5 trillion.

In 2021, the Ministry of Finance continued to submit to the Government for promulgation policies on extending the deadline for tax payment and land rent for subjects facing difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic; reducing the environmental protection tax on aviation fuel to support the aviation industry; calculate the deductible expenses when determining the taxable income of the enterprise for the support and sponsorship expenditures of enterprises and organisations for Covid-19 pandemic prevention and control activities; reducing the collection of more than 30 types of fees and charges until the end of December 31, 2021.

The Ministry of Finance has estimated the total value of support is about VND118 trillion, in which the amount to be extended is about VND115 trillion; the amount exempted or reduced is over VND3,000 billion. According to the assessment, the above support solutions on taxes, fees, charges and land rent are timely, have positive impacts and are highly appreciated by the business community and the people, contributing to removing difficulties, stabilizing production and business activities.

Most recently, the Ministry of Finance has submitted to the Government to submit to the National Assembly Standing Committee for approval Resolution No. 406/NQ-UBTVQH15 promulgating a number of solutions on tax exemption and reduction to support businesses and people affected by the pandemic. Accordingly, there are four solutions on tax exemption and reduction in 2021, including: reduction of corporate income tax; exempting tax arising in the 3rd and 4th quarters for business households and individuals; reducing value-added tax rates on goods and services in a number of industries and exempting late payment interest. Notably, there are solutions applied for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic appeared in Vietnam, such as tax exemption for business households, reduction of value-added tax and exemption of late payment interest.

According to estimates of the Ministry of Finance, the implementation of these four solutions could reduce budget revenue by nearly VND20 trillion.

Thus, in general, the solutions have been implemented by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the Government in accordance with their competence, the amount of taxes, fees, charges, and land rent that will support for businesses and people in 2021 is about VND138 trillion.

Necessary support policy

Currently, the business community is delighted because Resolution No. 406/NQ-UBTVQH15 has been officially issued, which is a necessary support policy to help when the Covid-19 pandemic has "eroded" the resilience of the business community and the economy.

"No matter how little or how much, all financial support right now is very valuable. Up to this point, it was not known how much the exemption and reduction amount will be for businesses this year, but we could imagine that it would be money to pay off due debts, money to develop the market, money to find new business channels, or even less, it could be support for employees when their families were also struggling because of Covid-19," a business representative said.

On the other hand, according to many experts, the proposal of policies related to taxes and fees to support people and businesses to overcome difficulties in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic has a serious impact on the economic situation was a great effort of the Ministry of Finance. Because in this situation, the Ministry of Finance is in a "difficult position" when it has to both ensure the revenue estimate as assigned by the National Assembly at the beginning of the year and support businesses and people.

According to the Ministry of Finance, in order to overcome and offset the impacts on state budget revenue in the short term as well as ensure the initiative in administering the state budget estimates, the Ministry will coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors and focus on directing the effective implementation of tax laws; continuing to reform and modernize the tax system, simplifying tax procedures; at the same time drastically manage state revenue collection, focusing on timely and effective implementation of groups of solutions on revenue management, revenue loss prevention, transfer pricing and tax evasion.

At this point, the Ministry of Finance will continue to closely follow the actual situation to promptly propose and report to the competent authorities regarding the next solutions.