Abolishing lump-sum tax on business households: Creating an equal business environment

- The abolition of lump-sum tax for business households in accordance with the spirit of Resolution 68-NQ/TW on Private Economic Development is opening up an important step in tax policy reform. This policy aims to build a transparent, fair and modern tax system; at the same time, it contributes to improving management efficiency, limiting budget losses and creating an equal business environment among economic types.

Remove the estimation mechanism

Lump-sum tax is a form of tax calculation based on the estimated revenue of a business household that has long existed as a suitable management solution in conditions of lack of data and technology. However, this model is increasingly revealing many shortcomings, especially in the context of strong digital economic development, increasingly diverse and difficult-to-control business forms.

Officers of the Tax Department of Region VII in Tuyen Quang province reviewed business households in Tuyen Quang province.

According to Mr. Hoang Thanh Phong, Deputy Head of the Tax Department of Region VII, implementing Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW, the Tax sector has simultaneously deployed a review and re-count of all business households nationwide. On that basis, from January 1, 2026, the lump-sum tax for business households will be officially abolished. According to the new regulations, business households will have only one method of paying taxes, which is to declare according to actual revenue. For business individuals (especially small business individuals or online businesses), they can choose to declare periodically or each time they occur.

“Abolishing lump-sum tax will increase transparency, accurately reflect business capacity and ensure the principle of “taxpayers self-declaring, self-paying, and self-responsible”. At the same time, tax authorities will have more complete information for effective management”, Mr. Phong emphasized.

In fact, the lump-sum tax policy over the past years has made many business households feel disadvantaged or inadequate. Some business households with low revenue still have to pay a fixed lump-sum tax, while some have large revenue but benefit by hiding sales and under-reporting. This leads to unfairness and budget loss.

Transparent, digital and fair tax administration

According to statistics from the Tax Department, there are currently about 2.64 million households and business individuals nationwide who have submitted tax declarations. Of these, 2.07 million households are in the stable category, but only 1.26 million households with revenue over 100 million VND/year are subject to tax. The average lump-sum tax rate is 673 thousand VND/household/month, reaching 98% compared to the same period last year.

In Tuyen Quang, according to a report from the Tax Department, there are currently 7,823 business households being managed under the lump-sum tax system. However, this number does not fully reflect the actual business practices in the field, as there are still many households that have not registered their business or operate on a small, mobile model. Switching to the declaration system will help the State better understand the scale, nature of operations and actual revenue of each household, thereby improving the effectiveness of supervision and regulation.

Ms. Pham Thi Linh, owner of a spa business in Hung Thanh ward (Tuyen Quang city) shared: “I support the removal of lump-sum tax because I feel that this model is no longer suitable. Each month, revenue can vary greatly, sometimes high, sometimes low. If taxes are paid according to actual declarations, it will be closer to the business situation, and also create fairness for honest business people.”

According to the assessment of the Tax sector, the transition from a lump-sum tax mechanism to a declaration tax is a major reform process, requiring careful and synchronous preparation, especially for small businesses that are not familiar with bookkeeping or accessing technological tools. To effectively support this process, the Tax sector has developed and implemented 5 key groups of solutions including: Perfecting policy institutions, focusing on reviewing and amending regulations related to business household taxes to ensure consistency with the spirit of reform, practical application and modern management trends; standardizing and simplifying declaration procedures; strongly applying information technology in tax management, focusing on developing free accounting software specifically for small businesses and popularizing electronic invoices from cash registers, helping to monitor revenue in real time, gradually creating a habit of transparency in financial management; Strengthen communication and support for business households, through promoting propaganda on the roadmap to abolish lump-sum tax, providing guidance on declaration, organizing professional training and supporting technology operations.

Along with the above solutions, the Tax sector will coordinate with organizations and accounting software providers to bring free support tools to each business household, especially in remote areas - where awareness and access to technology are limited. This will be a key factor to ensure the feasibility and success of the transformation process, towards a fair, transparent and modern tax system.

Source: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/bo-thue-khoan-voi-ho-kinh-doanh-tao-moi-truong-kinh-doanh-binh-dang-213192.html