Eliminate speculation but need to harmonize interests

Taxing real estate is a correct and necessary policy. However, how to hit the right target without affecting real buyers?

Recently, among the proposals related to the construction of the draft Law on Personal Income Tax (replacement) of the Ministry of Finance, the plan to tax personal income from real estate transfer activities based on the holding period, instead of the current regulation of applying a general tax rate of 2% on the transfer price, has received many conflicting opinions.

The Ministry of Finance expects that if included in the law-making program, the National Assembly will comment by the end of 2025 and consider approving the draft at the mid-2026 session. This is considered a strong solution to eliminate speculation, buying and selling, pushing up real estate prices, making it impossible for those with real needs to buy a house - generally called the phenomenon of "surfing" that is causing public frustration.

There are many other conditions attached to make the tax tool truly target speculators (Photo: Thu Ha)

Experts say this policy is correct and necessary, and can help limit speculation and reduce real estate "surfing" tricks.

Speculators often use short-term financial leverage to make quick profits. However, being forced to hold real estate for a long time puts a lot of financial pressure on them. When high taxes are applied, the increased costs make speculation less attractive and significantly reduce the liquidity of resale transactions on the market.

However, the application of taxation will be two-sided. And, for this policy to be truly effective and efficient, it needs to be implemented thoroughly, comprehensively, through multi-dimensional, thorough and reasonable research. From a cautious perspective, there is public opinion that the ability of this tax tool to directly reduce housing prices is not really effective, even counterproductive. Suppose the investor adds the increased tax cost to the selling price, certainly, the real buyer will bear more burden.

Not to mention, in cases of bank loans to buy real estate for business purposes, homeowners are under the pressure of "double loss", they can completely take the inevitable action of pushing the tax into the selling price to reduce the loss. Thus, the real buyers are also in more difficulty.

In order to adjust tax policies to "scratch the right itch", it is necessary for law makers to consider the local factors of the phenomenon of "surfing" and "heating up" in the real estate market, because the concentrated area occurs only in the two largest cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Other localities have almost not recorded the above situation, in many places the selling price is still stagnant, with few transactions.

At the same time, it is necessary to quickly complete the national database on land prices - also a requirement set forth in the 2024 Land Law. If the "two-price" situation in real estate transactions as well as cash payments is not resolved, taxation will still not be easy and it will be difficult to ensure fairness.

Accordingly, information technology infrastructure for land and real estate transaction registration needs to be given attention and invested in properly, creating a basis for tax authorities to obtain information on real estate holding time to apply in the most accurate way.

There are many other conditions that come with the tax tool to really target the right speculators. Hopefully in the coming time, with the determination and consensus of the management agencies, the real estate market will be further purified and transparent.

Those who use tricks to manipulate prices will gradually be eliminated, restoring balance and health to the market. At that time, real estate will return to its real value, opening up opportunities for people to soon realize their dream of settling down, stabilizing their lives and starting a business.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/danh-thue-bat-dong-san-triet-nan-dau-co-nhung-can-hai-hoa-loi-ich-363207.html