On the afternoon of November 27, at the discussion session in the hall about the Law on Special Consumption Tax (amended), many National Assembly deputies proposed to remove the regulation that air conditioners are subject to special consumption tax.
Delegate Ha Sy Dong - Photo: Quochoi.vn
Expressing his opinion on the imposition of special consumption tax on air conditioners, delegate Ha Sy Dong (Quang Tri) said that air conditioners have been subject to special consumption tax since 1998 at a rate of 20% and were reduced to 10% in 2008.
Air conditioning meets essential needs, no longer a luxury item
According to the delegate, air conditioning used to be considered a luxury item. However, with the development of society, air conditioning has now become an essential need in work and life. The use of this item helps improve people's quality of life and develop the knowledge economy.
“Vietnam is probably the only country in the world that imposes a special consumption tax on air conditioners . Other countries control air conditioners in two other aspects, one is the control of refrigerant solvents, the other is the level of electricity consumption,” said Mr. Dong.
At the same time, Vietnam now has regulations on energy efficiency for air conditioners and is increasingly moving towards increasing minimum energy efficiency. Therefore, imposing taxes on this item is unnecessary and should be abolished.
Sharing the same view, delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap) said that air conditioners are an essential product for people. Therefore, if tax is imposed on this product, it will not be used, it is no different from returning to the "stone age", while this increase does not bring much money to the budget, is annoying to people and is not suitable for business activities.
Also emphasizing the necessity of this item, delegate Nguyen Thi Le Thuy (Ben Tre) suggested not to consider putting items with a capacity of less than 90,000 BTU into the taxable category.
If the tax continues to be imposed, it should be applied to air conditioners using HCSC-containing refrigerants to encourage the use of environmentally friendly products. The drafting agency also needs to evaluate the non-collection of special consumption tax on air conditioners with a capacity of over 90,000 BTU to ensure fairness.
Need to remove the regulation of imposing special consumption tax on air conditioners
Expressing her opinion that taxing air conditioners is no longer appropriate, delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga (Hai Duong) said that this is no longer a luxury item. In fact, even low-income housing areas have installed air conditioners to serve their daily needs, so Ms. Nga suggested that this regulation should be considered for removal.
Delegate Truong Trong Nghia (HCMC) said "air conditioners are not at fault", the use of this product is to better serve the health of people, especially the elderly and children. Therefore, Mr. Nghia expressed his opposition to taxing this product and suggested that there should be instructions for people on how to use it, not tax it.
Expressing his opinion that in terms of tax rates and taxable subjects of this bill, there have not been any major, comprehensive changes compared to the old bill, although many subjects have been applied for a long time, delegate Trinh Xuan An (Dong Nai) said that special consumption tax should be applied to special, luxury goods to regulate consumption.
Therefore, the imposition of tax should be avoided on purely goods such as air conditioners, tobacco, etc., so it is necessary to review and adjust accordingly. At the same time, it is necessary to assess the impact of the bill on the business environment of enterprises, and this tax law cannot be turned into a tool to manage health and environment.
Will review the taxable air conditioner products
Explaining the issues of concern to delegates, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc said that in the world, taxes on air conditioners have been calculated, such as in Korea, Norway, Spain or in the UK, air conditioners below 27 degrees must be taxed...
Agreeing with the delegates' opinions and affirming that he will absorb, amend and supplement accordingly, Mr. Phoc said he will review and amend the subjects of air conditioner products subject to tax rates in different tax schedules.
For example, air conditioners using renewable energy from the sun and wind will not be taxed. As for air conditioners in general, because this is an item that consumes a large amount of electricity, affects climate change, and is harmful when used, taxes will be applied.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/danh-thue-tieu-thu-dac-biet-voi-dieu-hoa-dai-bieu-lo-ve-thoi-ky-do-da-20241127160259293.htm
Comment (0)