Gold tax: Need to clarify whether gold rings and wedding gold are subject to tax

“Gold rings are now also classified as jewelry gold, so are they taxed? Are people who buy and sell wedding gold taxed? These are issues that need to be carefully studied,” the expert said.

Gold is a taxable income-producing asset.

To improve market transparency and limit gold speculation, the Government has assigned the Ministry of Finance to coordinate with the State Bank to unify the content that clearly stipulates income from gold trading activities as taxable in the draft Law on Personal Income Tax (amended).

The proposal to tax gold has received support from many experts, but most recommend taxing it at a moderate rate to make it easier to control and fairer for all transactions.

Speaking with VietNamNet reporter, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Huu Huan (Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics ) said that taxing gold transactions is in line with market trends, because in the world, many countries have applied tax on this product.

“Taxing income from gold trading activities will both limit investment and increase budget revenue,” Mr. Huan emphasized.

Experts propose taxing gold similar to stocks and real estate. Photo: Minh Hien

Mr. Huan analyzed that in Vietnam today, real estate and stocks are subject to tax, while gold is also a profitable investment channel. Therefore, taxing profits from gold is appropriate.

“According to current regulations, individuals transferring real estate must pay a tax of 2% of the transaction value; securities are subject to a tax rate of 0.1% on the transfer price each time. From the calculation of personal income tax on real estate and securities, it can be applied similarly to gold,” said Mr. Huan.

Regarding the plan to impose a gold tax on profits, Mr. Huan said that it is difficult to implement. The reason is that many cases of gold purchases from 20 years ago do not have documents, so it is impossible to determine the purchase price and calculate profits.

According to Mr. Huan, we can refer to the tax rates of some countries such as China and India as a basis for policy development.

Another issue that Mr. Huan noted is the need to clearly distinguish between pure gold and jewelry gold. “Gold rings are currently also classified as jewelry gold, so are they subject to tax? Are people who buy and sell wedding gold subject to tax? These are issues that need to be carefully studied,” he said.

In addition, the tax implementation process also needs to be clearly defined: who will be the collector, will the gold selling enterprise be responsible for collecting and submitting to the budget, or will the tax authority directly implement it?

Proposal to impose gold tax similar to stocks

Sharing the same view, financial expert Phan Dung Khanh also said that taxing income from gold trading activities not only helps limit speculation and "surfing", but can also increase revenue for the budget. However, according to him, when building policies, it is necessary to clarify whether the taxable subjects are individuals, businesses or both, to avoid double taxation and creating loopholes for tax evasion.

Mr. Khanh noted that if a business has paid corporate income tax for related activities, there should be no additional tax rate. “It can only be collected from businesses whose gold trading activities are another source of income (if they are allowed to trade) and individuals,” he said, adding that centralized management is needed to prevent many people from evading taxes or transferring transactions to unofficial channels.

Regarding the taxation method, Mr. Khanh proposed that it could be applied similarly to securities, at a rate of 0.1% on the sale transaction. Buyers would not be taxed until they sell, to avoid double taxation.

He also noted that some other methods may apply higher rates; for example, in the past, in the stock market, there was a plan to impose a 20% rate but only calculated on profits. However, this method is more complicated because it must be proven that from the time of purchase to the time of sale, there was a profit, not a loss.

In addition, if tax is collected based on the number of transactions, for example, only when selling 1 quantity or more, it can lead to tax evasion by dividing the quantity or selling a lot but "splitting the bill" to avoid tax. Therefore, tax should be collected at a moderate rate, similar to the stock market, which will be easier to control and fairer for all transactions.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nen-danh-thue-vang-nhu-voi-chung-khoan-bat-dong-san-tranh-ap-thue-hai-lan-2444302.html