National Assembly delegates worry about "tax on tax" when transferring gold bars

Solutions to make the gold market healthy

Delegate Tran Kim Yen ( Ho Chi Minh City Delegation) speaks at the discussion. *Photo: Quochoi.vn*

Commenting on the draft Law on Personal Income Tax (amended), delegate Tran Kim Yen (Ho Chi Minh City Delegation) said that most people consider gold as an accumulated asset that comes from savings, accumulated during daily life activities to prepare for expenses for weddings, illnesses, etc. Gold can be purchased from savings, that is, after deducting tax, now when selling gold, it is taxed again. "Is this a tax on tax or not?", the delegate asked.

The tax is aimed at speculators and market manipulation with the aim of stabilizing the gold market. However, according to the delegate, a tax rate of only 0.1% is not enough to prevent speculation in gold trading; it is insignificant compared to the profit that speculators can earn from trading activities. Instead, the delegate believes that there should be measures to limit speculation, manage and make the gold market healthy.

Delegate Pham Van Hoa ( Dong Thap Delegation) speaks at the discussion. *Photo: Quochoi.vn*

Regarding this content, delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap delegation) said that those who make profits from transferring and speculating on gold bars must be taxed, but the 0.1% tax rate for these people is "nothing".

Therefore, the delegates suggested reviewing the taxation of this group and regulating income to limit speculation that destabilizes the gold market. For those people and families who buy gold to store and accumulate in case of illness, there should be no transfer tax.

Delegate Trinh Xuan An ( Dong Nai Delegation) said that no country has yet implemented personal income tax on gold bar transfers. “This regulation is new but very reasonable given the characteristics of Vietnam’s gold market,” the delegate said, agreeing with the proposal to tax gold bar transfers.

Delegate Trinh Xuan An (Dong Nai Delegation) speaks at the discussion. *Photo: Quochoi.vn*

The delegate expressed his opinion that it is impossible to say that buying gold is to save money but "stay up all night" from 3am to buy gold. When not being able to buy gold bars, they switch to buying gold rings pressed in blister packs, it is very difficult to distinguish between speculation and savings. Therefore, the delegate proposed that the Government should specify the threshold value of gold bar transactions subject to tax, for example 200 million VND/time or 1 billion VND/year.

Based on price fluctuations to calculate family deductions

Delegate Hoang Van Cuong (Hanoi Delegation) speaks at the discussion. *Photo: Quochoi.vn*

Discussing the draft Law on Personal Income Tax (amended), delegate Hoang Van Cuong (Hanoi Delegation) said that the family deduction level was mentioned by many delegates and that the regulation "based on price and income fluctuations for the Government to decide the deduction level" has the advantage of being flexible, timely, and does not have to wait for law amendments. However, tax is an area under the authority of the National Assembly and is directly related to the rights of the people.

Therefore, the delegates proposed that the Government base on actual developments to submit to the National Assembly Standing Committee to decide on the deduction level. At the same time, it is necessary to stipulate the principle that the adjusted deduction level is not lower than the highest increase in the price index or average income.

Delegate Nguyen Tam Hung (Ho Chi Minh City Delegation) speaks at the discussion. *Photo: Quochoi.vn*

Delegate Nguyen Tam Hung (Ho Chi Minh City Delegation) is interested in tax declaration, tax calculation, tax deduction, and anti-fraud and supplementing documents mentioned in Clause 5, Article 12 of the Law project. Specifically, the draft Law allows taxpayers to declare additional documents within 5 years, but in practice, many cases take advantage of this mechanism to avoid inspection and adjust data at sensitive times.

Therefore, the delegate suggested considering adding a risk warning mechanism for all additional declarations that change the tax amount significantly or are submitted close to the audit period to be subject to post-supplement audit. According to the delegate, this measure contributes to reducing revenue loss, improving compliance and is consistent with the risk management principles stated in Article 6.

National Assembly delegates discussed in the hall on the afternoon of November 19. *Photo: Quochoi.vn*

Regarding tax payment extension in Clause 6, Article 14, the draft Law allows the Government to decide on extension in special cases. This is a reasonable provision but quite open, easy to be misunderstood. Therefore, delegates suggested considering clearly establishing criteria for special cases including: Macroeconomic fluctuations, natural disasters, epidemics, supply chain crises or economic stability requirements assigned by the National Assembly. Clearly defining principles will create predictability for businesses, avoid abuse of extension policies and increase transparency in tax administration.

Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang, on behalf of the drafting agency, spoke to receive and explain the opinions raised by National Assembly deputies.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/dai-bieu-quoc-hoi-lo-ngai-thue-chong-thue-khi-chuyen-nhuong-vang-mieng-723929.html