The National Assembly of Vietnam November 20 approved laws on personal income, securities trading taxes and the GDP growth target of more than 8.5 per cent next year, state media reported on November 21.
Vietnam will start to apply the same personal income tax for the Vietnamese’s and foreigners from January 1, 2009, under which those earners of a minimum income of VND5 million ($310) a month will pay a 5 per cent tax, Young People newspaper reported.
Minister of Finance Vu Van Ninh said in an interview with local press that by adopting this move, Vietnam is expected to collect VND13 trillion ($812.5 million) from 2.3 million new tax payers for its coffer, which will account for 4 per cent of the GDP.
The minimum income threshold of VND5 million is based on minimum salary, he said. If the minimum salary is increased by 20 per cent a year, a person will have average salary of VND2 million a month.
Currently, about 300,000 income tax payers contribute more than VND6 trillion a year to the State budget, Youth newspaper said.
The Vietnamese lawmakers also officially approved the 20 per cent tax on securities transactions, which is expected to help boost the capital and stock markets, Chairman of the NA’s Finance and State Budget Committee, Phung Quoc Hien was cited by Young People newspaper as saying.
The new tax law gives individual stock investors two options: a 20 per cent tax on profits they make a year, or a 0.1 per cent revenue tax they will pay each time they sell stocks.
Currently, Vietnam doesn’t levy tax on individual stock investors but apply a 28 per cent income tax on institutional investors. There are nearly 250,000 trading accounts for the Vietnamese and 6,200 trading accounts for foreigners in operations.
The assembly also approved five other Laws on Amnesty, Judiciary Supports, Goods Quality, Chemicals, Anti-family Violence, Infectious Diseases, and a resolution on law-making and supervision.
NA closed on November 21 after a month working session.
NA Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong adopted a resolution on the GDP growth target of more than 8.5 per cent next year, exports growth of 20 per cent and 22 per cent, generation of 1.7 million new jobs and poverty reduction to 11 per cent and 12 per cent. (Local sources)
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