Hanoi (VNA) – The taxation agencies of Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have recently negotiated issues ༺related to double taxation avoidance and the implementation of tax policies.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Finance Cao Anh Tuan, who is also in charge of the General Department of Taxation, said the taxation agencies of the two countries have been stepping up cooperation and experience sharing to make it easier for taxpayers to perform their duty in the new era, thus making practical contribution to the development of cooperative ties as well as trust and friendship between the two sectors. Kim Chang-ki, Commissioner of the RoK's National Tax Service, said the taxation sectors of the RoK and Vietnam held the first conference at the general director level in 2003, and they have built reliable relations since. Kim said that Korean and Vietnamese tax agencies recently held talks to settle issues related to double taxation avoidance and implementation of tax policies. In the current context, the RoK and Vietnam are important economic partners of each other. Kim said that the two nations are expected to continue negotiating the settlement of matters related to double taxation avoidance and ensuring sustainability in tax management. To implement the national digital transformation programme until 2025 with a vision to 2030 and the tax system reform strategy until 2030, the Vietnamese taxation sector has made efforts to renovate and modernise the tax management work by perfecting the legal environment, developing infrastructure, and providing electronic tax services so as to meet requirements of the e-government towards the digital government. On that basis, the two officials affirmed that the Vietnamese and Korean taxation agencies will continue strengthening cooperation and sharing experience in tax management. Vietnam's General Department of Taxation and the RoK's National Tax Service signed a bilateral cooperation agreement in 2002 to share tax policies and experience in tax management to deal with arising issues in the increasingly diverse and complicated business environment. Every year, the taxation agencies of the two countries hold working sessions to exchange information and support each other in tax management. The agreement was valid for five years and was extended three times. Meanwhile, the agreement on double taxation avoidance was inked between Vietnam and the RoK in Hanoi on May 20, 1994, and became effective on September 11, 1994. As the deal was signed a long time ago and there were great developments in multifaceted relations between the two countries as well as bid changes in the real situation in the RoK, the Korean Ministry of Economy and Finance proposed re-negotiating the protocol to revise and supplement several contents of the agreement. The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance and the Korean Ministry of Economy and Finance held five rounds of negotiations on several provisions and terms of the agreement on double taxation avoidance. They agreed on the protocol's content on revisions and amendments to the pact. The two sides concluded the talks, signed the second protocol on November 27, 2019, and completed procedures to ratify it. The protocol became effective on January 20, 2021, and has been applied in the two countries since January 1, 2022. Statistics showed that the total budget revenue managed by the tax authorities is estimated at 1.46 quadrillion VND (61.6 billion USD) in 2022, equal to 124.3% of the ordinance's estimate, an increase of 8.5% over the same period last year. Domestic revenue is estimated at 1.39 quadrillion VND, equaling 121% of the ordinance estimate, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%. Domestic tax and fee collection are estimated at 1.06 quadrillion VND, equal to 116.4% of the ordinance's estimate, a growth of 5.3% compared to the figure last year./.