Vietnamese authorities will crack down on tax evasion by implementing strict measures to ensure individuals and businesses fulfill their tax payment obligations.

Financial constraints and liquidity issues are keeping a number of businesses in Ho Chi Minh City, particularly those operating in the real estate sector, in significant tax debts.

As of the end of July, the tax sector collected a total of 25.608 trillion VND (1.06 billion USD) in tax arrears, reported the General Department of Taxation.

Minster of Finance Dinh Tien Dung on January 13 asked for greater efforts from the tax sector to well implement the budget collection plan for 2020 assigned by the National Assembly and the Government.

State budget collection made up 25 percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019, with tax and fee accounting for 21 percent, the Ministry of Finance reported.

The General Department of Taxation has collected over 19.4 trillion VND (835 million USD) in tax debts as of July 31, up 2.4 percent from the same time last year.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) is working on a draft resolution on handling tax arrears and irrecoverable fines to submit to the National Assembly.

Tax authorities have been told to collect tax debts of enterprises totalling 23.5 trillion VND (over 1 billion USD), or an 18.8 percent year-on-year increase, by the end of July.