Tax evasion, tax avoidance and transfer pricing are getting more complicated, particularly through affiliated transactions, due to incomplete and impractical policies, said Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha on July 15.

At the conference (Photo: VNA)

He made the remark at the General Department of Taxation’s conference to review the six-month performance and map out tasks and solutions for the second half of the year.

State budget revenue in the first half of this year represented 51.2 percent of the yearly target and rose by 12.5 percent from a year earlier, he said, adding that 50 out of the country’s 63 cities and provinces have state budget revenue exceed 50 percent of the yearly target.

However, Ha pointed out several shortcomings in recent tax administration, particularly the inconsistency between tax regulations, making it difficult for the authorities to enforce the regulations.

Alongside tax evasion, tax avoidance and transfer pricing, the country has seen an increase in tax debt despite many efforts by the authorities, the official stated. By the end of June, the tax debt rose by 9.3 percent from the same period last year to nearly 83.4 trillion VND (3.58 billion USD).

The deputy minister then outlined eight tasks for the tax authorities in the last six months of the year. He urged them to focus more on collecting taxes to ensure state budget revenue will exceed 5 percent of the estimate while developing a practical state budget collection plan for 2020.

He asked the General Department of Taxation to coordinate with agencies from the Ministry of Finance to promptly draft decrees guiding the implementation of the Law on Tax Administration and circulars under the ministry’s competence, adding the tax authorities must continue pursuing the plan on tax investigation to prevent state budget losses and transfer pricing.

According to Deputy General Director of the General Department of Taxation Phi Van Tuan, in the first six months of 2019, tax authorities at all levels have conducted inspections at 35,344 enterprises, accounting for 40.5 percent of the yearly target. 

Some 150 firms with affiliated transactions have been inspected. As a result, the tax authorities have collected 693.4 billion VND in tax refund and fines.