The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee continued its 44th session on April 28 with discussions on extending the legislature’s draft Resolution on agricultural land tax exemptions to the end of 2025.

Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung at the meeting (Photo: VNA) 

According to a Government report, an estimated VND7.5 trillion (US$3.2 billion) in agricultural land taxes will be exempted every year in the 2021-2025 period, which is expected to be used in the sector as investment to expand production and improve productivity and product quality.

Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung said the exemption will not have an adverse effect on State budget revenue as the policy has been implemented since 2001. Under the NA’s Resolution No. 55/2010/QH12 dated November 24, 2010, the exemption was set to run until the end of this year.

Issuing a new policy under the form of an NA Resolution is a suitable measure, as the policy has proven effective in improving farmers’ lives and generating employment in rural areas over the last two decades.

The policy does not create any conflict in trade with other countries and does not violate Vietnam’s international commitments in joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dung emphasised.

Members of the NA Standing Committee agreed on the necessity to continue applying the exemptions in the 2021-2025 period.

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said the exemptions, totalling VND7.5 trillion (US$3.2 billion) each year for a sector that covers 70% of the national population, is not a huge sum.

She affirmed that the policy is important for the agricultural sector, farmers, and rural areas.

She asked, however, for thorough assessments of the scale of the exemptions and those able to apply.

The Government should report the outcomes of the policy carried out in the 2001-2020 period to serve as a basis for amendments to the Law on Agricultural Land Use Tax, she added.