This was the main issue discussed by experts at the Workshop "Tax and a healthy financial system for sustainable development" chaired by the Ministry of Finance, the General Department of Taxation in coordination with Lao Dong Newspaper on December 18.
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| Although the tax industry has undergone a strong digital transformation, not all businesses have enough resources and capacity to adapt. |
Vietnam's Tax sector, one of the sectors that contributes significantly to the national budget, the sector that affects a large number of people and businesses, has been a pioneer in applying information technology and digital transformation. Speaking at the workshop, Mr. Mai Son, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Taxation (Ministry of Finance) said that from 2021 to now, the Tax sector has implemented the simplification of administrative procedures from 304 to 235 procedures, saving nearly 600 billion VND in tax administrative procedure compliance costs for taxpayers, integrating 122/235 administrative procedures into the National Public Service Portal.
Up to now, 100% of enterprises have participated in using electronic tax declaration services, 99% of enterprises have registered to use electronic tax payment services with tax authorities, and 99% of operating enterprises have participated in electronic tax refunds. Deploying electronic tax services for individuals for property leasing activities, electronic registration fee declaration for cars and motorbikes has reached nearly 50% of the total number of declarations. The deployment of eTax Mobile, the application of electronic invoices, the application of Big Data and AI to manage invoices have helped to quickly detect and prevent invoice fraud, tax fraud, etc. These are great efforts of the tax sector in the digitalization process.
The digital transformation of the Vietnamese Tax sector has many outstanding strengths, but Mr. Do Hoang Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Digital Technology Center - National Digital Transformation Agency (Ministry of Information and Communications) commented that this work also faces many challenges that need to be overcome. For example, although the Big Data system has been deployed, the technology infrastructure system is not strong enough to handle large and complex data volumes from digital economic activities, leading to overload or delays in data processing. Cybersecurity risks increase as the number of digitized transactions and data increases, while security measures are not really comprehensive. Human resource competition between the public and private sectors makes it difficult for the Tax sector to attract leading technology experts. The interface and features of electronic tax services are difficult to use for individuals with little exposure to technology, especially individuals and small businesses in rural, remote and isolated areas who are unfamiliar with online tools and processes.
From these shortcomings, many businesses reflect that they are still facing difficulties in implementing tax procedures. Mr. Hoang Quang Phong - Vice President of the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry ( VCCI) said that in the latest business environment survey conducted by VCCI in 2024, up to 31% of businesses still face difficulties in implementing tax administrative procedures, especially micro, small and medium enterprises. For example, despite many improvements, the process of tax declaration, payment, refund and tax settlement is still complicated, causing time-consuming and costly costs for businesses. Some tax regulations have not been interpreted or applied consistently between central and local management agencies, leading to a lack of transparency and unpredictability for businesses. In addition, although the tax sector has strongly transformed digitally, not all businesses, especially micro, small and medium enterprises, have enough resources and capacity to adapt.
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| Experts discuss at the Workshop |
Therefore, VCCI proposes: to facilitate taxpayers to fulfill their tax obligations, it is necessary to build friendly information portals, integrating artificial intelligence (AI) to answer questions quickly and accurately; There should be specific instructions, detailed, easy-to-understand and unified guidance documents on the implementation of tax policies; Research, amend and implement simple and stable tax policies, simplify declaration forms, minimize overlapping taxes and fees, and maintain stability in policies so that businesses can confidently make long-term plans. Support micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) , for these businesses, there should be specific policies such as tax exemptions and reductions, support for tax compliance training, or direct consultation; Enhance dialogue and consultation , tax authorities need to maintain regular dialogue channels with businesses to listen to feedback, as well as update practical issues in policy implementation.
From the perspective of a person directly participating in and managing the digital transformation process, Mr. Do Hoang Anh Tuan said that the Tax sector needs to develop larger, more powerful data centers to handle complex transactions and the increasing volume of data from the digital economy; build integrated platforms, big data platforms to provide complete information for direction and operation, connect and exchange information between state management agencies, support tax administration, tax risk management and policy making; design easy-to-use systems, focusing on convenience and user-friendliness. In addition, build an online support center using virtual assistants to promptly resolve problems for taxpayers. Tax authorities also need to organize in-depth training courses for tax officials on the use and operation of modern technology systems.
Along with solutions to promote the application of information technology in the tax sector, Mr. Mac Quoc Anh, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Hanoi Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, said that many businesses also hope that the tax sector will continue to accompany and support by perfecting tax policies, reducing the financial burden on businesses such as applying lower preferential tax rates for small and medium enterprises, especially start-ups and innovative businesses; Exempting and reducing corporate income tax for businesses in sectors heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic recession, such as tourism, logistics, and retail; Strengthening support for businesses and taxpayers; Strengthening dialogue and cooperation mechanisms with businesses, etc.
“Businesses, citizens, and taxpayers always have higher demands than before, this is a huge pressure on the tax industry. But I believe that with the methodical, scientific, dedicated and devoted work that the tax industry has done in the past, the tax industry will perform well in the coming time,” Mr. Mac Quoc Anh affirmed.
Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/hien-dai-hoa-de-nuoi-duong-nguon-thu-ben-vung-tu-thue-159066.html
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