Proposal to temporarily suspend exit from the country for tax debt of 10 million VND: Reasonable but not enough

Reasonable and legal

Lawyer Tran Tuan Anh, Director of Minh Bach Law Firm - Hanoi Bar Association, commented: The tax debt level of 10 million VND to temporarily suspend exit for individuals is reasonable, considering the current context of high currency value and living standards. This is a "reasonable" level, avoiding applying it to small debts, causing unnecessary trouble.

For businesses, a debt level of 100 million VND is also appropriate, to create pressure for businesses to comply with tax obligations, but not too high to cause difficulties for business operations.

Proposal to temporarily suspend exit from the country for individuals with tax debts of VND10 million or more and for businesses with tax debts of VND100 million or more. (Illustration photo)

According to Mr. Tuan Anh, this proposal is also in accordance with the law as Article 47 of the 2013 Constitution stipulates that everyone must pay taxes. The measure of temporarily suspending entry and exit for individuals or businesses in a state of tax debt aims to ensure the financial obligations of taxpayers to the State.

In fact, the temporary suspension of entry and exit for individuals or business representatives has been stipulated in many legal documents, such as Article 66 of the 2019 Law on Tax Administration, which stipulates the responsibility to fulfill tax payment obligations in case of exit.

“ Taxpayers who are being forced to execute administrative decisions on tax management, Vietnamese people leaving the country to settle abroad, Vietnamese people settling abroad, and foreigners must fulfill their tax payment obligations before leaving Vietnam. In case they have not fulfilled their tax payment obligations, their exit will be temporarily suspended according to the provisions of the law on exit and entry,” Mr. Tuan Anh cited.

At the same time, Clause 5, Article 36 of the 2019 Law on Exit and Entry also clearly stipulates cases of temporary suspension of exit, including : "Taxpayers, legal representatives of enterprises being forced to execute administrative decisions on tax management, Vietnamese people leaving the country to settle abroad, Vietnamese people residing abroad who have not fulfilled their tax payment obligations before leaving the country according to the provisions of the law on tax management ".

Although the right to freedom of movement and exit is one of the basic rights stipulated in the Vietnamese Constitution, in order to ensure tax obligations as well as prevent tax evasion and create pressure to encourage taxpayers to prioritize tax debt settlement, the application of temporary exit suspension measures is reasonable and setting specific criteria for each case will also help ensure transparency and objectivity in the handling process.

Meanwhile, Lawyer Truong Thanh Duc, Director of ANVI Law Firm, said that if the tax debt threshold for temporary exit suspension is too low and for too short a period, it will affect production and business activities as well as socio-economic development. The tax debt level for temporary exit suspension must be a logical figure and closely linked to other legal regulations, but it must also be simple, easy to remember and easy to implement. Then people and businesses will comply better.

For example, instead of setting a specific figure of 10 million VND for individuals, Mr. Duc proposed using the starting level of personal income tax or the minimum wage as the basis for determining the threshold for tax debt to suspend exit. Avoid the case of future inflation or changes in reality, the number must be adjusted accordingly. The time should also be calculated in 3 months, 6 months, 1 year...

" In my opinion, the current starting level for individuals is 11 million, for businesses it is 100 million, then after 6 months of tax debt, they will be banned from leaving the country. If the debt is 3 times the starting level or more, after 1 month, they will be banned from leaving the country. Later, it will increase according to the above base number, for example, individuals from 15 million VND, businesses from 200 million VND ."

More measures needed

Although he supports it, lawyer Tuan Anh said that the measure of temporarily suspending exit from the country in cases of tax debt should be applied flexibly and discreetly. Because besides cases of deliberately delaying tax payment, there are also cases of real difficulties due to unsold goods, natural disasters, fires, etc. They need support such as tax payment in installments, when there is cash flow, they pay gradually. Therefore, the application of coercive measures should depend on each case.

Similarly, for businesses, there should also be specific levels for each unit size, such as small and medium enterprises or large enterprises, there must be different levels. Such detailed regulations will limit difficulties for business operations of businesses, affecting the personal reputation of business representatives and business brands.

Another aspect that Mr. Tuan Anh especially noted is that in reality, many businesses, despite having a lot of debt, do not have the need to go abroad and vice versa, there are businesses, despite having little debt due to temporary difficulties, but have the need to go abroad to meet partners, look for orders...

Therefore, the Ministry of Finance should introduce more measures to collect taxes more effectively, not just relying on temporary suspension of entry and exit to collect taxes.

“To avoid negative impacts, the scope of the temporary suspension of exit should be narrowed, rather than expanded. At the same time, it is necessary to add an exclusion rule for individuals and businesses with a good history of tax compliance but are facing business difficulties or have a tax payment schedule.

Preventing exit in cases of business cooperation or serious illness treatment also needs to be considered, to avoid causing unnecessary difficulties and inhumanity. Freedom of movement is a fundamental right, so this measure should only be applied when absolutely necessary, to avoid abuse, " Mr. Tuan Anh proposed.

In addition, the notification process needs to be improved, ensuring that taxpayers are aware of their tax debt status and the risk of being suspended from leaving the country, avoiding cases of being denied departure at the airport without prior knowledge. For taxpayers who comply with tax laws but are facing difficulties, it is necessary to create conditions for them to continue doing business, instead of applying overly rigid coercive measures that can lead to bankruptcy.

Cong Hieu

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/de-xuat-no-thue-10-trieu-dong-bi-tam-hoan-xuat-canh-hop-ly-nhung-chua-du-ar912435.html