Xuan Bac said it was difficult, theater owners complained about suffering if the tax increased by 10%.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha said the Government will soon consider and remove obstacles in the development of cultural and sports institutions - Photo: T. THANG

On May 12, delegates attending the Culture 2024 workshop frankly discussed many issues related to shortcomings in policies and mechanisms and resources for the development of cultural and sports institutions.

Summarizing the opinions at the discussion session, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha said that the Government will have specific assessments and considerations to resolve existing problems in order to promote the development of cultural and sports institutions.

People's Artist Xuan Bac: Difficult to attract workers due to low wages

Sharing about the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism approving the project to exploit the premises of the Vietnam Drama Theater, People's Artist Xuan Bac - Director of the Vietnam Drama Theater - said that this is good news because having more revenue also means having more benefits for staff, giving them more confidence and motivation to work.

"The current salary is too low. If we are not quick and urgent, it will be difficult to attract workers to art units, not to mention attracting talent" - People's Artist Xuan Bac raised the issue.

People's Artist Xuan Bac - Director of Vietnam Drama Theater - said that the current salary is not attractive enough for workers participating in cultural and sports institutions - Photo: T. THANG

According to the director of the Vietnam Drama Theater, in fact, for many years now the unit has been exploiting and leasing premises but under the pretext of coordinating and implementing monthly contracts, at most signing for three months because they do not know when they will be fined.

Currently, the project has only stopped at the auction level because the theater is quite narrow and the location is not beautiful.

In particular, the Vietnam Drama Theater faces the same difficult situation regarding human resources as other public service units.

Specifically, to ensure the staffing for two performing troupes, this unit needs about 108-110 people, but every year it is reduced, currently there are only 63-64 people, so the two troupes have to be merged to meet the performance standards of one troupe.

Struggling with taxes and capital

At the discussion session, Ms. Ngo Thi Bich Hanh - General Director of BHD Company Limited - affirmed that Vietnamese cinema is having the fastest growth rate in the world and is a strength, but Vietnamese enterprises operating in this field face difficulties in policies related to taxes, fees, and capital sources.

"Many Vietnamese cinema brands have had to sell shares to foreign countries to maintain operations. Resources for cultural institutions on cinema are mostly from foreign countries and the private sector.

The value added tax rate applied to cinemas at 5% is still high, but the draft is considering increasing it to 10%. If it cannot be reduced, please keep it at 5%," Ms. Hanh said.

Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Thua Thien Hue province Phan Thanh Hai shared the difficulties in the policy mechanism on land lease in developing private museums - Photo: T. THANG

According to Ms. Hanh, the increase in land rental costs has forced private cinemas to rent space in shopping malls at high prices. In addition, the issue of whether electricity bills can be reduced for the cultural sector is also an issue that needs to be considered.

According to Ms. Hanh, the preferential loans for businesses in the cultural sector are still being waited for. In Ho Chi Minh City, the locality is willing to lend businesses up to 200 billion VND with 0% interest rate for 7 years, however, for cinemas, 7 years is still not enough to recover the capital.

Ms. Thai Thi Kim Lan - an overseas Vietnamese investing in the Huong River Ancient Ceramic Museum, hopes that the State will join hands to develop private museums - Photo: T. THANG

Ms. Thai Thi Kim Lan - an overseas Vietnamese who founded the Huong River Ancient Pottery Museum - said that she had to use her family's land to establish the museum, but if she wanted to develop it further, she needed the help of state agencies.

"I am applying to build another museum about Ao Dai, but it has been 2-3 years and it has not been approved. I think the policy must be done in a way that reaches the private sector and creates confidence in investing in the project," Ms. Lan shared.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/xuan-bac-keu-kho-nha-rap-than-kho-neu-tang-thue-10-20240512160615731.htm