3:05:20 PM | 8/7/2011
Hanoi was assigned to collect VND110 trillion for the State Budget in 2011. The capital city fetched a total of VND56.21 trillion in the first six months of the year, equal to 54.7 percent of the full-year target and up 14.5 percent from the same period in 2010. Crude oil contributed VND2,407 billion to the State Budget in the reporting period, up 164 percent year on year. Excluding crude oil, the value was VND53,803 billion.
Reporter Le Hien interviews Mr Phi Van Tuan, Director of the Hanoi Taxation Department, to learn more about tax collection results in the first six months and about tax reforms.
Why did Hanoi have good tax collection, despite tough economic conditions?
The considerable growth came from outstanding balances in 2010. The stimulus package launched by the Government and macroeconomic policies gave a strong boost to the economic recovery in 2010, particularly in the last months. Hence, the amount of taxes generated in 2010 and settled in 2011 was relatively big. According to the laws, value-added tax (VAT) and excises (also known as special consumption tax) generated in December and in the fourth quarter of 2010 were settled in the first quarter of 2011. Corporate income tax in 2010 was declared and paid to the State Budget in March 2011. If these were excluded, State Budget collection in the first half of 2011 still reached 50 percent of the assignment.
How do so many of the more than 76,000 businesses in the city implement the Government’s Decree 51 on self-printing invoices?
To date, all 29 tax departments in Hanoi have established steering committees to guide taxpayers to implement this decree. This was an important step in tax administration reform which facilitates businesses to settle tax payments. Hence, 76,000 businesses affected by this decree have enough invoices to use since the start of the year. Among them, more than 40,000 self-print their invoices, while the rest purchase invoices from tax authorities. In the second quarter of 2010, only 30 percent of them self-print their invoices, helping to avoid overload when the deadline for using invoices purchased from tax authorities comes at the end of this year. However, the presence of so many micro-businesses raises difficulties in tax reform and management.
How has Hanoi dealt with so many micro-businesses? How will tax procedures be reformed and modernised in the coming time?
Tax reform must start from tax declarations by enterprises. Having a large number of micro-businesses presents difficulties for tax sector modernisation. Because the capacity of this sector is still weak, a person can undertake many jobs without clear definitions. Although Vietnam encourages all economic sectors to do business, it needs to supplement standards to gradually reach the world level. Hence, authorities should weigh on the licensing of this form of business to avoid the registration and trading of invoices.
Implementing the tax reform strategy for the 2011 - 2020 period adopted by the Government in May 2011, Hanoi will continue expanding the scope of taxpayers allowed to declare tax procedures online. The city targets to allow 15,000 enterprises to declare tax online in 2011. Even, taxpayers can settle tax at banks. The city will open 111 tax collection points in 29 districts to help taxpayers to reduce time and expenses.
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