Proposal to reduce VAT for all goods and services

Proposal to reduce VAT for all goods and services - Photo: QUANG DINH

In a response to the Ministry of Finance regarding the reduction of value-added tax (VAT) for the first 6 months of 2024, the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry said that Vietnam's macroeconomic situation in 2023 will face many difficulties and challenges.

Economic growth in 2023 is forecast to be just over 5%. This difficult situation is expected to continue in the early stages of 2024 when the world economy has not yet recovered and the domestic economy still faces many problems.

Therefore, continuing to reduce VAT at this time is extremely necessary, contributing to supporting businesses to regain growth momentum and create jobs.

In addition, the VAT reduction measures implemented in 2022 and 2023 have brought many positive impacts to businesses and the economy, especially helping to increase domestic consumption in the context of difficult export orders.

However, according to the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry, businesses encounter many difficulties when applying this policy, mainly stemming from the classification of which goods are subject to 10% tax and which goods have their tax reduced to 8%.

Although the Government has issued Decree 15 of 2022 and Decree 44 of 2023 to guide implementation, in reality, the classification of goods and services into different tax rates is still confusing.

Many businesses look up the appendices of Decrees 15 and 44 but do not dare to confirm whether their goods and services are subject to a tax rate of 10% or 8%.

Some businesses ask tax and customs authorities, but these authorities do not dare to confirm for businesses for fear of being wrong.

"Many businesses have to hire additional accountants to adjust invoices and books to match the new tax rate. Some businesses have reported that they have negotiated and agreed with customers on quantity, quality, and price, but have not agreed on the tax rate of 8% or 10%, so they cannot sign the contract," the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry emphasized.

For the above reasons, the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry proposed that the drafting agency consider the option of reducing VAT for all types of goods and services from 10% to 8%.

Agreeing with the reduction of VAT for all goods and services from 10% to 8%, speaking with Tuoi Tre Online, many economic experts also recommended reducing VAT by 2% for the whole year of 2024 because people's lives and businesses' health are still very difficult.

Economist Vu Dinh Anh analyzed that reducing VAT by 2% will help buyers benefit from less tax. This policy will encourage consumers to buy more goods and services, thereby supporting businesses to sell more goods and services.

The Ministry of Finance is finalizing a draft resolution of the National Assembly. The plan that the ministry is seeking opinions from ministries, branches and central agencies is to reduce VAT by 2% for some groups of goods and services in the first 6 months of 2024. If this plan is approved, the budget will reduce revenue by about 25,000 billion VND.

According to TTO

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/de-xuat-giam-thue-vat-cho-tat-ca-hang-hoa-dich-vu-20231027105334908.htm

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