National Assembly delegates point out shortcomings in tax deductions for high-income earners

A person with an income of 95 million will have 66.5 million VND after tax. But if the income is 102 million, after tax, there will be 66.3 million VND left. So the higher the income, the less money will be received.

On the afternoon of November 5, giving comments at the group on the draft Law on Personal Income Tax (amended), delegates said that the bill should aim to reduce the burden on workers, support business operations, and at the same time ensure fairness and transparency in the tax system.

Proposal to increase family deduction to 17.3 million VND/month for taxpayers

Delegate Tran Hoang Ngan (HCMC delegation) analyzed that personal income tax accounts for an average proportion of about 9% of total state budget revenue. In 2025 alone, this figure will account for 10% of total domestic revenue.

Notably, the economy is growing at 7-8% while it is estimated that in 2025, personal income tax revenue will increase by about 20.5% compared to the estimate. That shows that the current individual contribution level is quite high.

Delegate Tran Hoang Ngan (HCMC delegation) spoke

The delegate mentioned that the National Assembly Standing Committee recently passed a Resolution on adjusting the family deduction level. Specifically, adjusting the family deduction level from 11 million VND/month to 15.5 million VND/month; adjusting the deduction level for dependents from 4.4 million VND to 6.2 million VND/month. Expected to apply from January 2026.

"However, National Assembly deputies and the Review Committee proposed to consider increasing the amount to 17.3 million VND for taxpayers and 6.9 million VND for dependents. I also support this proposal," said delegate Tran Hoang Ngan.

Sharing the same view, delegate Tran Kim Yen (HCMC delegation) also said that our adjustment of income tax rate is "not big" and suggested considering a higher level.

Family deductions must be consistent with the new minimum wage.

In particular, delegate Tran Kim Yen said, the gap between tax rates does not create motivation for people. For example, with an income of less than 100 million, the tax rate is 30%, over 100 million is 35%.

Ms. Yen analyzed: "A person with an income of 95 million will have 66.5 million VND left after tax deduction. But if the income is 102 million, after tax deduction, there will be 66.3 million VND left. So, if the income is higher, the amount of money will be received in the end." From there, delegate Yen suggested that it is necessary to carefully calculate the personal income tax schedule accordingly.

In addition, the female delegate said that the bill assigns the Government to regulate the family deduction level in accordance with the socio-economic situation in each period. This, according to the female delegate, is very good because we do not have to amend the law much. However, it is necessary to have a framework for family deduction regulations to ensure the stability of people's lives, not to ensure a minimum standard of living.

Delegate Nguyen Thi Le (HCMC delegation) emphasized that the draft law needs to increase the deduction for individuals and dependents, and at the same time design a flexible mechanism so that the Government can periodically adjust according to the consumer price index (CPI), avoiding the situation where the law quickly becomes outdated. The female delegate also said that currently, there are many tax brackets and the gap between the brackets is short, causing tax rates to increase rapidly, creating a heavy psychological burden for people with average incomes and above. Delegate Le suggested reducing the number of brackets and widening the gap, both to ensure fairness and to avoid the phenomenon of brain drain when many high-income workers seek to move to other countries.

Delegate Ha Phuc Thang (HCMC delegation) commented that the Government is planning to increase the minimum wage and apply it in 2026, the minimum wage is 3.45 million VND. Delegate Thang suggested that we should review the family deduction level to match the minimum basic wage that we plan to adjust.

Delegate Ha Phuc Thang (HCMC delegation) spoke

Ensuring fairness in tax calculation when buying and selling real estate and securities

According to delegate Tran Kim Yen, regarding the calculation of personal income tax on real estate transfers, this is to limit real estate speculation, especially in big cities and urban areas with a large number of transactions. "But it is important to separate real estate speculators from workers who have a real need to buy housing," delegate Yen suggested.

According to Ms. Tran Kim Yen, currently, we are including the income tax in the selling price. If we do not calculate carefully, people who really want to buy a house will have to bear this burden. Therefore, the law must be calculated to reduce speculation while still ensuring the real right to own a house of the people.

Meanwhile, delegate Nguyen Thi Le pointed out the difference in tax obligations between salary income and income from capital investment, securities, and real estate transfer. Salaried workers must pay high progressive tax, while many investment incomes are subject to low tax rates or fixed rates. This creates a sense of unfairness, affecting people's trust in tax policy. Delegate Nguyen Thi Le suggested that the draft law should ensure the principle of fairness, with those with higher incomes contributing more.

In addition, delegate Nguyen Thi Le said that tax incentives should be given to specific sectors such as technology, innovation, digital economy, and green transformation. It is possible to apply a tax exemption or reduction mechanism in the first few years for workers participating in startups, both supporting businesses and encouraging creativity in society. In particular, it is necessary to add regulations on deducting reasonable personal expenses, such as costs of advanced education, health insurance, and costs of caring for the elderly. This will both encourage people to invest in education and health care, and reduce the social burden in the long term.

Proposal to raise tax threshold for business households to 300 - 400 million

Delegate Tran Hoang Ngan proposed that the Government and the Drafting Committee consider calculating personal income tax for individual business households with revenue of 200 million VND or more.

"With a revenue of 200 million VND/year, after deducting expenses and income, how much will be left? Therefore, I propose that a business household with a revenue of at least 300 million or more, or even 400 million or more, must pay personal income tax for individual business people. This will ensure compatibility with the current income subject to tax for family deductions," said delegate Ngan.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/dai-bieu-quoc-hoi-neu-bat-cap-khi-tru-thue-voi-nguoi-thu-nhap-cao-20251105185452084.htm