The NA Standing Committee recently discussed amendments and supplements to several articles of the Law on Environmental Protection Tax. (Source: english.vov.vn) Hanoi (VNA) -The National Assembly Standing Committee has not approved the Ministry ofFinance’s proposal to almost triple the environmental protection tax onoil and gas consumption, citing potential harm to consumers.
The NA StandingCommittee on September 13 discussed on amendments and supplements to severalarticles of the Law on Environmental Protection Tax.
Previously, the ministryproposed an environment tax of 4,000-8,000 VND per litre of gasoline, anincrease from the current 1,000-4,000 VND. The ministry also proposed taxes of 3,000-6,000VND per litre of aviation fuel, 1,500-4,000 VND per litre of diesel oil, 300-2,000VND per litre of kerosene and 900-4,000 VND per kilogramme of mazut.
NA Chairwoman Nguyen ThiKim Ngan said the Government’s current policy was to limit the increase oftaxes and fees at this time to reduce businesses’ difficulties.
Ngan said the the maximumtax level of 4,000 per litre has not been applied to petrol. Therefore, theproposal should be carefully considered.
NA Vice Chairman Phung QuocHien said the explanation of Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung was notconvincing.
After examining the amendedlaw, the NA’s Finance and Budget Committee said that although Vietnam’s taxrate is low relative to other countries, international comparisons were notappropriate due to the lower level of Vietnamese incomes. Petrol, the committeesaid, already accounts for a relatively high portion of Vietnamese people’sincomes.
The ministry has not fullyexplained the effects of the environmental protection tax hike on the Statebudget as well as on people’s quality of life.
“Data and analytics for thetax hike are not really convincing,” the NA’s report said.
In response, Minister Dungsaid the increased State revenue from the tax hike would be used forsocio-economic tasks including environmental protection.
He added that the taxincrease to 8,000 VND per litre would also help improve people’s awareness ofthe need for environmental protection. The tax hike could prevent petrolsmuggling.
He also said the Law onEnvironmental Protection Tax has only focused on petrol, accounting for 93 percentof the total collection, and not mentioned other products.
He said he would ask theministry to prepare the draft more carefully, with research on the potentialeffects on quality of life and business production.-VNA
The NA StandingCommittee on September 13 discussed on amendments and supplements to severalarticles of the Law on Environmental Protection Tax.
Previously, the ministryproposed an environment tax of 4,000-8,000 VND per litre of gasoline, anincrease from the current 1,000-4,000 VND. The ministry also proposed taxes of 3,000-6,000VND per litre of aviation fuel, 1,500-4,000 VND per litre of diesel oil, 300-2,000VND per litre of kerosene and 900-4,000 VND per kilogramme of mazut.
NA Chairwoman Nguyen ThiKim Ngan said the Government’s current policy was to limit the increase oftaxes and fees at this time to reduce businesses’ difficulties.
Ngan said the the maximumtax level of 4,000 per litre has not been applied to petrol. Therefore, theproposal should be carefully considered.
NA Vice Chairman Phung QuocHien said the explanation of Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung was notconvincing.
After examining the amendedlaw, the NA’s Finance and Budget Committee said that although Vietnam’s taxrate is low relative to other countries, international comparisons were notappropriate due to the lower level of Vietnamese incomes. Petrol, the committeesaid, already accounts for a relatively high portion of Vietnamese people’sincomes.
The ministry has not fullyexplained the effects of the environmental protection tax hike on the Statebudget as well as on people’s quality of life.
“Data and analytics for thetax hike are not really convincing,” the NA’s report said.
In response, Minister Dungsaid the increased State revenue from the tax hike would be used forsocio-economic tasks including environmental protection.
He added that the taxincrease to 8,000 VND per litre would also help improve people’s awareness ofthe need for environmental protection. The tax hike could prevent petrolsmuggling.
He also said the Law onEnvironmental Protection Tax has only focused on petrol, accounting for 93 percentof the total collection, and not mentioned other products.
He said he would ask theministry to prepare the draft more carefully, with research on the potentialeffects on quality of life and business production.-VNA
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