National Assembly Delegate Pham Thi Thanh Mai: The situation of fraud and tax evasion is alarming.

Vice Chairwoman of the City People's Council, Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Hanoi City Pham Thi Thanh Mai speaks. *Photo: Nhu Y*

Discussing at the meeting hall , Vice Chairwoman of the City People's Council, Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Hanoi City Pham Thi Thanh Mai said that according to the State Audit report for the period 2021-2025, there are still quite a number of tax arrears; the total estimated domestic tax arrears by September 30, 2025 account for 17%, an increase of 17.6% compared to December 31, 2024.

Meanwhile, the rate of debt collection and settlement is low, reaching only 21.4% of the total debt. Particularly for the total tax arrears in 2024, it is equal to 9.7% compared to the state budget collection and this result does not meet the requirements.

Delegate Pham Thi Thanh Mai said that the National Assembly Resolution has stated that it is striving to reduce the rate of tax arrears to less than 5% of the total state budget revenue. “A situation that we find very alarming is that tax fraud and evasion leading to loss of state budget revenue are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complicated,” the delegate said.

Delegate Pham Thi Thanh Mai said that through the press as well as recent reports, delegates highly appreciated the Government 's close direction to strengthen the fight against tax fraud. However, one of the problems in doing business on e-commerce platforms such as online sales, including those of famous people, is that only when the police get involved can they discover fake, counterfeit, poor quality goods and tax evasion.

“This situation not only affects the budget revenue but also the economy, which is the trust and unhealthy competition between businesses. For businesses doing business honestly, we still recommend measures that not only combat revenue but also solve the problem at its root. That is to create a healthy competitive environment. Goods must have a clear origin and be properly assessed in terms of value,” delegate Pham Thi Thanh Mai suggested.

In the 2026-2030 period, the proportion of state budget investment expenditure is expected to account for about 40% of total budget expenditure, in which central budget investment expenditure ensures the leading role. The above proportion is consistent with the development orientation in the coming time and to achieve the double-digit growth target.

However, delegate Pham Thi Thanh Mai said that the structure of development investment and regular expenditure for some localities, especially those localities that are unlikely to be able to balance their budgets themselves or to regulate their budgets to the Central Government, even though they have just rearranged provincial administrative units to create new development space, cannot ensure budget balance in a short time.

From there, the delegate suggested: "For this proportion, the whole country should balance separately for each locality in allocating funds for the period 2026-2030, to ensure that for some provinces, the spending task must ensure social security, maintain the borders of the Fatherland, and ensure that our domestic economy has development and growth." The delegate also suggested that the allocation of the state budget, especially investment spending, should be calculated according to output results.

Delegate Pham Thi Thanh Mai said that after implementing the two-level local government model, the district level has now handed over a number of tasks to the commune level. In Hanoi, the city has strongly implemented this decentralization and delegated power to the commune level. However, nationwide, the delegate suggested that the Government, especially the Ministry of Finance, pay attention to this issue.

The delegate stated that there should be a policy after the reorganization, consolidation and comprehensive re-evaluation. If any project after investment supervision shows that it is no longer effective, not suitable with the planning and local conditions after the reorganization, it should be boldly stopped to avoid waste and carry out the settlement procedures. At the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to preventing outstanding debts in basic construction after the district level has implemented the handover work to the provincial or commune level for continued implementation.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/dai-bieu-quoc-hoi-pham-thi-thanh-mai-tinh-trang-gian-lan-tron-thue-dang-bao-dong-721551.html