Agree to submit to the National Assembly for consideration to further reduce VAT for the last 6 months of the year

VOV.VN - The National Assembly Standing Committee has agreed with the Government's proposal to extend the implementation period of the VAT reduction policy until the end of this year, instead of ending at the end of June.

On June 13, at the 34th Session of the National Assembly Standing Committee, the Government submitted a draft Resolution of the National Assembly on reducing value-added tax (VAT). Accordingly, the Government submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and permission to continue implementing the policy of reducing 2% VAT rate for a number of groups of goods and services currently applying a VAT rate of 10% in the last 6 months of 2024 (from July 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024) and assigned the Government to organize and implement.

The sectors that continue to not have a 2% VAT reduction include telecommunications, information technology, financial activities, banking, securities, insurance, real estate business, metals, prefabricated metal products, mining products (excluding coal mining), coke, refined petroleum, chemical products, goods and services subject to special consumption tax in Resolution No. 43/2022/QH15.

The extension of the 2% tax reduction period is expected to reduce budget revenue by about VND24,000 billion in the second half of this year. In the first 6 months of the year, this tax revenue decreased by nearly VND23,500 billion. Therefore, if the VAT reduction policy continues to be implemented for the second half of this year, it is expected to decrease by nearly VND47,500 billion for the whole year. However, the Government believes that the VAT reduction will reduce budget revenue, but will contribute to reducing costs and selling prices of goods and services, thereby contributing to promoting production and business and maintaining jobs for workers, contributing to stabilizing the macro economy and recovering the economy.

The National Assembly Standing Committee gives opinions on the draft Resolution of the National Assembly on reducing value added tax.

The audit report of the Finance and Budget Committee said that the standing body of this agency has two streams of opinions agreeing and disagreeing. Regarding the dissenting opinions, the audit agency said that in the first quarter of this year, the total retail sales of goods and services increased by 8.2% compared to the same period last year. If excluding the price factor, this rate increased by 5.1% - lower than the GDP growth rate of the first quarter of 5.66%. This shows that VAT has been reduced, but up to now it has no longer had the effect of stimulating consumption because the purchasing power and domestic consumption capacity of the people have decreased significantly. Therefore, these opinions suggested that the Government evaluate more carefully the ability to achieve the goal of stimulating consumption. In addition, some opinions said that a very large resource is still needed for investment when reforming wages, investment expenditures and other essentials. On the other hand, there are also opinions suggesting that the reduction should be considered for all goods and services, instead of excluding some items as at present. In conclusion, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai said that members of the National Assembly Standing Committee agreed that the fiscal policy should be extended until the end of this year. This content will be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and the decision will be included in the general resolution of the 7th Session.

Ngoc Thanh

Source : https://vov.vn/chinh-tri/thong-nhat-trinh-quoc-hoi-xem-xet-giam-tiep-thue-vat-6-thang-cuoi-nam-post1101276.vov