Tax on gold bar transfer, no "tax on tax"

(Dan Tri) - The biggest goal of taxing gold bar transfers, according to Finance Minister Nguyen Van Thang, is to regulate gold buying and selling behavior, avoiding speculation that affects people.

On the afternoon of November 19, while giving comments on the draft Law on Personal Income Tax (amended), some National Assembly deputies were concerned about the taxation of gold bar transfers.

The draft law proposes to collect 0.1% personal income tax on gold bar transfers to increase market transparency and limit speculation.

It is necessary to distinguish between speculation and accumulation to impose appropriate taxes.

Delegate Pham Van Hoa ( Dong Thap ) expressed his approval of imposing personal income tax on gold bar speculation for profit. However, the delegate expressed concern that the 0.1% tax rate was too low to effectively promote the goal of limiting speculation.

Delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap) (Photo: Media QH).

Besides, delegate Pham Van Hoa also said that there needs to be a mechanism to distinguish between speculators and regular gold hoarders to prevent risks.

"For people and households who buy gold just to store, reserve, and preserve assets for their children and grandchildren - cases of pure accumulation, not business - I propose not to collect taxes. This is a natural need of the people, and buying and selling based on borrowing relationships and civil transactions between individuals is very common and difficult to determine the nature of business. Therefore, there should be no tax imposed on this group of hoarders," said the delegate of Dong Thap delegation.

Sharing the same view, delegate Tran Kim Yen (HCMC) said that it is necessary to carefully study the personal income tax on the transfer of gold bars.

"Most people buy gold as a form of savings, accumulating assets for weddings, illnesses, funerals or unexpected events. This money is formed after they have paid personal income tax. Now when they sell gold, they are taxed again. Is this double taxation?", she said.

According to the delegation of Ho Chi Minh City, from a social point of view, taxing this small savings is not really humane. From an economic point of view, a tax rate of 0.1% is not enough to prevent gold speculation - the profit from speculation is much larger than the tax payable.

"It is necessary to consider exactly who are speculators and who are accumulators; what mechanism is needed to manage and stabilize the gold market," the delegate recommended.

Delegate Tran Kim Yen (HCMC) (Photo: Media QH).

It is difficult to distinguish between speculation and accumulation.

Emphasizing that personal income tax on gold bar transfers is a very new issue, delegate Trinh Xuan An (Committee on National Defense, Security and Foreign Affairs) said that when reviewing international practices, he found that no country has yet taxed personal income tax on gold bar transfers like Vietnam.

"But I think this proposal is very reasonable given the characteristics and peculiarities of Vietnam when managing gold," Mr. An said, adding that this is a suitable policy to use with many other tools to manage and regulate the gold market.

Many National Assembly delegates believe that there should be no tax on people who buy gold to save money, but according to Mr. Trinh Xuan An, it is very difficult to distinguish between buying gold to save money and buying gold for speculation.

"You can't say you're saving money by staying up all night, lining up at 3am to register to buy gold bars, and then not being able to buy gold bars, you buy rings in blister packs. You can't save money like that," said Mr. An.

Delegate Trinh Xuan An (Photo: Media QH).

Mr. An assessed that the tax rate of 0.1% is appropriate, but he said that the adjustment of this tax rate must be decided by the National Assembly Standing Committee.

"Taxing the transfer of gold bars does not involve double taxation or affect people's savings," Mr. An stated his opinion.

Speaking after receiving the explanation, Finance Minister Nguyen Van Thang said that the tax policy on gold bar transfers has been carefully reviewed and studied, based on the synthesis of opinions from ministries, branches and the inspection report of the National Assembly Committee.

The draft law assigns the Government to specify the taxable gold bar value threshold, the time of application and the mechanism for adjusting tax rates to suit developments in the gold market.

According to the Minister, the proposed 0.1% tax rate on income from gold bar transfers aims to regulate behavior, limit speculation, and reduce pressure on the gold and foreign exchange markets. He emphasized that gold speculation can cause strong price fluctuations, and "in the end, it is the people who suffer the most when the gold market is manipulated."

Minister Nguyen Van Thang spoke to receive the explanation (Photo: Media QH).

Minister Nguyen Van Thang said that this tax policy is just one of many solutions to manage and stabilize the gold market in the current context and affirmed that there is no such thing as double tax.

"The Government will continue to consider the appropriate implementation time and will report to the National Assembly when issuing documents guiding implementation," the Minister informed.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/danh-thue-chuyen-nhuong-vang-mieng-khong-co-chuyen-thue-chong-thue-20251119161925169.htm