There needs to be a more “fair mechanism” for the press.

(CLO) The press economy plays an increasingly important role when press agencies must be financially independent. Entering the digital age, the press is under heavy pressure from declining revenue, while the cost of producing and distributing information is increasing. This requires a more appropriate tax incentive policy in the new context to continue to fulfill the political tasks assigned by the Party, State and People.

Challenges in the “dual mission…

In fact, the revenue of press agencies depends largely on advertising, but advertising revenue at press agencies is currently decreasing while production costs are increasing. Meanwhile, press agencies still have to carry out political tasks according to regulations. Therefore, the proposal to reduce corporate income tax for press agencies is receiving attention from leaders of press agencies and journalists nationwide.

Discussing this issue, journalist Phung Cong Suong, Editor-in-Chief of Tien Phong newspaper, said that press agencies are public service agencies, not enterprises, but currently most of them have to both carry out the political tasks of the Party and the State, carry out the tasks assigned by the governing agency, and be financially autonomous.

Journalists are working tirelessly day and night, with high intensity, requiring great creativity to complete the tasks and missions assigned by the Party, State and People.

In the journey of carrying out its mission, the press is facing many different difficulties. Objectively, it is the fierce competition of cross-border advertising platforms, such as Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, other social media sites are also attracting readers and advertising.

Regarding subjective pressures, journalist Phung Cong Suong said that most newspapers have difficulty in generating revenue from advertising. He analyzed: With printed newspapers, press agencies that have printed newspapers are currently losing money, because they have to maintain printed newspapers to carry out political tasks, but in reality, very few or no press agencies can balance revenue and expenditure or make a profit when distributing through the market channel... The number of newspapers sold cannot increase, while the number of employees in press agencies cannot be reduced. Not to mention, producing printed newspapers also has printing costs, distribution costs and royalties that cannot be cut when maintaining a newspaper.

As for electronic newspapers, Mr. Phung Cong Suong acknowledged that currently, most newspapers do not charge readers, users use them for free, only a few newspapers charge but do not have real revenue from readers. In the condition of not charging fees, the press agency still has to produce a large amount of content, maintain operations in terms of transmission lines, bandwidth, network security control technology, information security, data systems... All still have to pay like a business without anyone's support.

And more importantly, regarding the autonomy mechanism, Tien Phong newspaper has been autonomous since 1974 and fully autonomous for decades. Thus, the press has been falling into a paradox, which is having to carry out propaganda and political tasks but also having to ensure funding to maintain publications that are ineffective.

From the perspective of a prestigious press agency, striving to fulfill its “dual mission”, the Editor-in-Chief of Tien Phong newspaper emphasized: “In terms of role and position, the press and businesses are both important forces, but in terms of operating mechanisms, there are fundamental differences, so they cannot be “equalized” when applying tax rates. Businesses can do business in all fields that are not prohibited by law, the press operates as an autonomous enterprise, must pay taxes but can only operate according to the prescribed objectives, so it is almost “tied up”, making it very difficult to develop as a business ”.

Of course, the Editor-in-Chief of Tien Phong newspaper also said that in that difficulty, the Party and the State have had policies to support the press by issuing regulations on policy communication, however, the number of press agencies participating in the policy communication market is not much, just a trickle, insignificant compared to the expenses that press agencies spend.

“The press is currently facing many difficulties. The lucky newspapers make a little profit, but the rest are basically in a state of breaking even and losing money, “patching up the pieces” without a long-term source of revenue to invest in development or to accumulate. We have to find many ways to generate revenue, but to be honest, we still fall into the situation of spending every penny we earn, and it is sad to say that this is a common situation. If the corporate income tax for the press is reduced to 0% for 1 or 2 years, I think it is only symbolic because the nature of the press is that there is no income to tax anymore. But reducing corporate income tax for the press will certainly be a valuable encouragement for journalists who are working tirelessly day and night, with high intensity, requiring great creativity. Therefore, I propose that, not only reduce the tax rate to 10% for all types of press, but I hope that the Party and State will have a roadmap to exempt taxes for the press. This will demonstrate the concern of the Party and State for press activities and also to make the press feel secure in carrying out its political tasks, fulfilling its mission as a propaganda agency, disseminating the law, and being a propaganda tool of the Party, State and People..." - journalist Phung Cong Suong pondered and proposed.

Do not "equate" businesses with press agencies

Sharing the same view on the need for a “fairer mechanism” for the press, journalist Le Van Toa - Chairman of the Lam Dong Provincial Journalists Association said that press agencies, regardless of type, radio or television, print or electronic, all have specific characteristics, they are revenue-generating public agencies, not necessarily businesses. Businesses mainly do business for profit. Meanwhile, press agencies have political tasks, propagating the Party’s guidelines and policies, the State’s policies and laws, contributing significantly to raising awareness of cadres, party members and the people. If the tax rate is applied to businesses, it is unreasonable and unfair.

“We do not equate businesses with press agencies. The press performs specific tasks, not businesses, and press leaders are not businessmen. Therefore, tax application must also take into account specific factors. I hope that the state tax management agency will continue to study the deep reduction of corporate income tax and VAT to suit press activities. Only then will the press be able to improve its quality and compete with current social networking platforms,” journalist Le Van Toa shared.

In reality, social networking platforms such as Tiktok, Youtube, and Facebook have created fierce competition, causing the revenue of press agencies to continue to decline sharply. In order to compete for a piece of the economic "pie", many press agencies are forced to restructure part of their revenue sources to invest in infrastructure, human resources, and re-plan content. Many press agencies have boldly diversified their revenue sources, including: traditional advertising; fee collection; media cooperation; event organization; e-commerce; providing information technology services; research organizations... However, press revenue has not improved significantly. Given that reality, assuming that the application of taxes for many years on the press is still at a relatively high level, Associate Professor Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh - Senior Lecturer of the Academy of Finance commented: “The tax rates applied before being issued, the state management agency needs time to study. When issued, it will be the basis for the state management agency of the press and the press agency to be able to apply and implement. When the tax rate is at the most reasonable level, the tax sector will also collect tax revenue that the press agency can easily implement. The press sector is a relatively special field, providing special services, so it is necessary to have a thorough study from which to apply the appropriate tax rate”.

Thus, along with the practical difficulties, especially the Draft Law on Corporate Income Tax (amended) will be officially submitted to the National Assembly for comments at this 8th Session, the proposal to reduce corporate income tax for the press is urgent. This time, we amend the Law on Corporate Income Tax, which is also an opportunity to amend tax regulations for press agencies. Press agencies hope to be interested and considered to have appropriate tax policies for the press to increase competitiveness and development, continuing to serve better in the journey to reach the 100-year milestone.

Ha Van - Le Tam

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/can-co-co-che-cong-bang-hon-nua-voi-bao-chi-post318021.html