Closing 2% VAT reduction until the end of 2026

With the new Resolution passed by the National Assembly, many groups of goods will have their value-added tax (VAT) reduced by 2% until the end of 2026.

On the morning of June 17, with 452/453 delegates present participating in the vote in favor, the National Assembly voted to pass the National Assembly Resolution on VAT reduction.

According to the newly passed Resolution, the National Assembly resolved to reduce the VAT rate applied to groups of goods and services specified in Clause 3, Article 9 of Law on Value Added Tax No. 48 by 2% (to 8%).

Goods and services not eligible for tax reduction include: telecommunications, financial activities, banking, securities, insurance, real estate business, metal products, mining products (except coal), goods and services subject to special consumption tax (except gasoline). The Resolution takes effect from July 1 to December 31, 2026.

On the morning of June 17, the National Assembly voted to pass the National Assembly Resolution on reducing value added tax (VAT).

Before being approved, Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang presented a report on acceptance, explanation and revision of the draft Resolution.

According to Minister Nguyen Van Thang, there are some opinions suggesting applying a 2% VAT reduction for all goods. However, there are also opinions suggesting that instead of reducing 2% for many subjects, a 4-5% reduction should be applied to the right subjects in need of support.

Clarifying this issue, Mr. Thang said that this draft Resolution has expanded the subjects eligible for tax reduction compared to the provisions of previous National Assembly Resolutions and extended the tax reduction period until the end of 2026. Accordingly, transportation, logistics, goods, and information technology services are eligible for tax reduction.

In addition, according to the provisions of the law on VAT, teaching, vocational training and medical services are not subject to VAT, so there is no need to reduce tax.

Services such as finance, banking, securities, and insurance are not subject to VAT, so there is no need to reduce VAT. Telecommunications and real estate services are industries that have grown in recent times and are also not subject to VAT reduction.

Furthermore, according to the Government's proposal on April 16, the expected reduction in state budget revenue in the last 6 months of 2025 and the whole year of 2026 is equivalent to about 121,740 billion VND. Of which, the reduction in the last 6 months of 2025 is about 39,540 billion VND, and in 2026 it is about 82,200 billion VND.

In case of implementing tax reduction according to the plan to reduce all items subject to VAT rate of 10%, the expected reduction in state budget revenue in the last 6 months of 2025 and the whole year of 2026 is equivalent to about 167,000 billion VND. Of which, the last 6 months of 2025 will reduce by about 54,000 billion VND, in 2026 it will reduce by about 113,000 billion VND.

"If we reduce taxes on all items subject to a 10% VAT rate, it will further reduce state budget revenue, making it difficult to ensure medium-term fiscal stability and public debt safety.

At the same time, consumers can consume goods and services that are not encouraged for consumption, such as goods and services subject to special consumption tax, and items that need to be managed, protected, and exploited and used reasonably," said Minister Nguyen Van Thang. Therefore, the Government requests the National Assembly to keep the draft Resolution.

Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang

Regarding the official application period, there are opinions suggesting extending the policy application period to 2 years. Or there are opinions that applying the policy for 1.5 years is quite long, affecting the effectiveness of the policy; There are opinions agreeing to reduce taxes until the end of 2025...

Regarding this content, Minister Nguyen Van Thang said that the Government's proposal to extend the VAT reduction policy to 1.5 years instead of only reducing it once every 6 months as before will contribute to creating a driving force to promote and develop the economy, consolidate and prepare well the fundamental factors to successfully implement the 10-year Socio-Economic Development Strategy 2021 - 2030, GDP growth in 2025 will reach 8% or more, contributing to creating a solid foundation to achieve double-digit growth in the period 2026 - 2030...

The proposal to apply a long-term stable tax rate of 8% is not consistent with the Party and State's policy on restructuring the State budget to ensure a safe and sustainable national finance, and the System Reform Strategy to 2030. Accordingly, we will move towards basically applying one tax rate and studying increasing the VAT rate according to the roadmap.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/chot-giam-2-thue-vat-den-het-nam-2026-3362886.html