On November 17, the Finance and Budget Committee in coordination with the KAS Institute in Vietnam organized a workshop to discuss some contents of the Law on Special Consumption Tax, chaired by Deputy Director Nguyen Van Chi and attended by many experts, representatives of research institutes, the Vietnam Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Association, the World Health Organization in Vietnam and businesses.
Deputy Head of the Finance and Budget Committee Nguyen Van Chi said that the Law on Special Consumption Tax has been amended and supplemented four times to gradually implement the policies stipulated in the law, as well as resolve problems arising in practice and fulfill commitments to international economic integration.
The application of special consumption tax has contributed to the budget revenue, but more importantly, it has had a positive impact on many aspects of economic and social life. Special consumption tax is also an effective policy tool to orient the production and consumption of society towards products and services that are not encouraged for consumption, especially those that are not beneficial to health and the environment in the spirit of international conventions related to the fields of health and the environment.
Overview of the workshop.
In addition to the achieved results, current special consumption tax policies also reveal some shortcomings and limitations, especially the narrow scope of taxable subjects compared to international practices; some regulations are not really clear, creating favorable conditions for taxpayers; the tax rate structure for some groups of goods is not really effective.
The tax basis has not been updated in line with international good practices and has not achieved the goal of limiting consumption of products harmful to health, as well as the goal of encouraging the production and consumption of environmentally friendly products.
At the workshop, delegates focused on discussing some important contents of the direction of amending the law. From the perspective of protecting people's health, representatives of the Ministry of Health completely agreed with the Ministry of Finance on the proposal to develop the Law on Special Consumption Tax (amended) to institutionalize the policy in the work of protecting, caring for and improving people's health in the new situation.
In terms of viewpoints and policy orientations, the Ministry of Health agrees with the proposals to continue increasing this tax on harmful products such as tobacco and alcohol. At the same time, it agrees to add more subjects subject to special consumption tax to reduce the harmful effects of consuming sugary drinks, raise awareness and protect people's health.
According to Associate Professor Dr. Vu Sy Cuong - Academy of Finance, an effective tax structure is capable of balancing the goals of ensuring consumer health and creating sustainable tax revenue, while controlling illegal consumption.
Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Sy Cuong said that it is necessary to clearly define the reform of the Law on Special Consumption Tax with the goals of increasing budget revenue, limiting negative externalities, ensuring transparency in tax collection, supporting production, fairness in production and consumption... Vietnam is a developing country so it can study the mixed tax calculation method, but there must be a suitable roadmap. Currently, the draft law only proposes to apply to tobacco products, while alcohol is still in the research process.
Specifically analyzing, Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Sy Cuong said that when using mixed methods, it will affect small producers, they will suffer more damage and disadvantages than large units.
On that basis, Mr. Cuong said that it is necessary to have a roadmap to apply a mixed tax calculation method for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products.
Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Sy Cuong emphasized that when developing policies, we must conduct comprehensive research, not only adjusting consumer behavior but also paying attention to the interests of related parties.
In conclusion, Vice Chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee Nguyen Van Chi highly appreciated the contents of the discussions and opinions of experts, representatives of associations and enterprises. These are very practical and necessary contents, and are an important information channel to serve the process of drafting the law, as well as the process of reviewing this law.
Bao Anh
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