Forecasting that the CPI will fluctuate, the Ministry of Finance plans to report to the Government to submit to the National Assembly Standing Committee an adjustment to the family deduction level for calculating personal income tax in October.
Personal income tax including taxes from wage earners (mainly) and business individuals. This is one of the three main pillars of the budget, along with corporate income tax and value added tax (VAT).
Currently, the family deduction is 11 million VND and each dependent is 4.4 million VND per month. This level has been maintained since July 2020. Individuals are deducted from insurance, family deductions, allowances, subsidies... the remaining amount is income subject to personal income tax. However, the family deduction and progressive tax schedule are considered outdated and inappropriate when spending and life are increasingly expensive.
At the regular press conference on January 7, Mr. Truong Ba Tuan, Deputy Director of the Department of Tax and Fee Management and Supervision (Ministry of Finance) said that according to the current Law on Personal Income Tax, the family deduction level is adjusted when the consumer price index (CPI) fluctuates by more than 20% compared to the time the law takes effect or the most recent adjustment of the deduction level.
Meanwhile, according to the General Statistics Office, the CPI from 2020 - the time when the family deduction level increased - to 2024 was over 15%, which is not exceeding the 20% threshold as prescribed. Thus, the family deduction level cannot be adjusted according to the Personal Income Tax Law.
However, Mr. Tuan said that the Ministry of Finance forecasts that the CPI will fluctuate in 2025 and may have to adjust this deduction level. Therefore, this agency will study and report to the Government to submit to the National Assembly Standing Committee a Resolution on adjusting the family deduction level to suit reality, without waiting for a law amendment.
"The October meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee may have content related to the resolution on adjusting family deductions according to CPI fluctuations," Mr. Tuan informed.
The Ministry of Finance believes that specific family deductions need to be carefully studied and calculated to ensure they are higher than the average GDP per capita, regional minimum wage, and average expenditure in a given period.
At the same time, the operator will review and evaluate the Law on Personal Income Tax (including the content on family deductions...) to report to the Government, the National Assembly Standing Committee, and the National Assembly for consideration of amendments and supplements, ensuring compliance with Vietnam's socio-economic conditions and international practices.
The Ministry of Finance has completed the compilation of comments and suggestions from ministries, branches and localities on this draft law. The Ministry will send the draft law to the Ministry of Justice for appraisal according to the prescribed procedures. This draft law will be registered in the 2025 law and ordinance making program and is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly for comments in October 2025 and approved in May 2026.
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