National Assembly Delegate Cam Thi Man (National Assembly Delegation of Thanh Hoa Province): Proposal to study and supplement the roadmap for applying tax rates on soft drinks

National Assembly Delegate Cam Thi Man (National Assembly Delegation of Thanh Hoa province).

Participating in giving comments, National Assembly Delegate Cam Thi Man (Thanh Hoa Province National Assembly Delegation) said that through studying the draft Law submitted to the session and the report on reception, explanation and revision of the National Assembly Standing Committee, the draft Law has been revised on the basis of basically absorbing the opinions of delegates and experts.

However, to contribute to perfecting the draft Law, especially when the Law is promulgated and applied in practice, ensuring harmony in terms of benefits, responsibilities and feasibility for the State, businesses and consumers on the basis of assessing both scientific and practical impacts, delegates proposed:

Regarding the addition of soft drinks according to Vietnamese standards, with sugar content over 5g/100ml to the subjects subject to special consumption tax (point l, clause 1, Article 2 and the order number of 12 goods items in the list of tax rates):

Compared to the draft Law submitted at the 8th Session, the Government proposed to add soft drinks according to Vietnamese standards, with sugar content over 5g/100ml, to the subjects subject to special consumption tax at a tax rate of 10%. The revised draft Law has incorporated the opinions of National Assembly deputies, stipulating in Article 8 that the tax roadmap for soft drinks is "From January 1, 2027 is 8%" and "From January 1, 2028 is 10%" so that relevant entities have more time to prepare.

Delegates agreed with the roadmap for tax imposition on new products, especially sugary soft drinks, which are related to 25 related industries in the value chain, such as retail, tourism, restaurants, hotels, and hundreds of thousands of sugarcane farming households and sugar production companies.

However, delegates said that imposing taxes on new products requires a longer preparation roadmap, especially in the context that businesses are facing many difficulties and tax burdens, especially when the United States is moving to impose reciprocal taxes of up to 46% on goods imported from Vietnam.

In addition, the Institute for Policy and Strategy Studies (CIEM) also recommended applying a 5% tax rate to the group of products subject to special consumption tax for the first time to minimize negative impacts on the economy. Delegates said that the 5% tax option will ensure the implementation of the goals set out in the draft Law on Special Consumption Tax (amended), including: regulating consumption and production; ensuring people's health; ensuring budget revenue; creating opportunities for businesses to adapt to the new tax, restructure business, maintain production activities as well as ensure employment opportunities and income for workers.

Therefore, delegates proposed to study and supplement the roadmap for applying tax rates on soft drinks specifically as follows:

Option 1: Tax schedule after the Law takes effect for 1 year: From January 1, 2027 to December 31, 2027: Tax rate 5%. From January 1, 2028 to December 31, 2028: Tax rate 8%. From January 1, 2029: Tax rate 10%.

Option 2: Tax schedule after the Law takes effect for 2 years: From January 1, 2028 to December 31, 2028: Tax rate of 8%. From January 1, 2029: Tax rate of 10%.

Such a roadmap and tax rate will ensure that the implementation process does not have too great an impact on consumers, businesses and the economy; at the same time, businesses have time to change their product production strategies, shifting to products that are good for consumers' health while still ensuring business goals and economic growth.

Regarding the list of taxable goods and services stipulated in Article 2 of the draft law, delegates basically agreed and said that this content has been inherited from the current law and has been revised and supplemented. In particular, delegates highly agreed with the list in Article 2, as well as the tax rates and implementation roadmap as stipulated in Article 8 for goods and services such as alcohol, beer, tobacco, playing cards, votive paper, votive paper; business of dance halls, massage parlors, casinos, electronic games, betting, lotteries... because these are all types of goods that show a great impact and influence on the health, material and spiritual life, culture and lifestyle of the people or are services only for a few people with high incomes, foreign tourists and should be limited, not encouraged for domestic people to use.

However, for goods and services such as motor vehicles, gasoline of all kinds, air conditioners, and soft drinks, delegates suggested that there should be a general and comprehensive assessment of the nature, level of impact, and influence of the special consumption tax policy on these goods on domestic production as well as the regulation of consumer trends and needs. Especially in the context that we need strong and effective measures to attract foreign investment and protect domestic production from pressures from trade and tariff conflicts. At the same time, it is also necessary to balance the protection of consumers' rights and health in the short and long term.

Quoc Huong

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/dbqh-cam-thi-man-doan-dbqh-tinh-thanh-hoa-de-nghi-nghien-cuu-bo-sung-lo-trinh-ap-dung-thue-suat-doi-voi-nuoc-giai-khat-248163.htm