"Two extremes" in Hoi An's revenue collection.

The urban development project of Dat Phuong Hoi An Joint Stock Company, once land prices are determined, will contribute a significant amount of revenue to the local budget. Photo: QT

A bright spot in budget revenue collection.

Due to the difficult real estate market situation and some procedural obstacles, revenue from land use fees in Hoi An in 2024 is estimated to reach only about 50 billion VND (approximately 6% of the allocated budget) and only 25% compared to the same period in 2023.

The most notable shortfall in revenue was from entrance fees to Hoi An Ancient Town and Cam Thanh Coconut Forest. It is estimated that up to 90% of domestic tourists do not purchase tickets when visiting Hoi An Ancient Town.

However, on the positive side, Hoi An's domestic revenue, excluding land use fees, reached over 908 billion VND, achieving 119% of the assigned target and increasing by approximately 20% compared to the same period in 2023. Several major revenue items exceeded the target, such as: Revenue from the non-state economic sector (over 311 billion VND), revenue from personal income tax (over 138 billion VND), and revenue from foreign-invested enterprises (over 38 billion VND).

The fact that several major revenue streams related to businesses and the community exceeded projections shows that the overall "health" of the economy , especially the key tourism and service sector of Hoi An, continues to recover.

Mr. Nguyen Phuc Hung, Head of the Hoi An City Tax Department, said that in 2024, the Hoi An City Tax Department completed its budget revenue collection task assigned by the City People's Council after several years of failure, especially the collection of taxes from non-state enterprises. During the year, the department also intensified efforts to recover tax debts and achieved good results, collecting over 40 billion VND.

In 2025, the projected total state budget revenue in Hoi An City is approximately 1,985 billion VND, of which the projected revenue from land use fees is over 1 trillion VND.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Son, Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoi An City, the provincial land valuation council has held its final meeting on land prices for several large projects in Hoi An City, so it is expected that land prices for some projects will be available in January 2025.

With established land prices, revenue from land use contributed to the budget could reach hundreds of billions of dong, making the projected land revenue for the locality in 2025 quite feasible.

However, the leaders of the Hoi An City People's Committee also acknowledge that Hoi An's land resources are currently limited, and revenue from land in Hoi An is projected to only be sufficient for public investment during the period 2026-2030, after which it will gradually dry up, making the future very difficult.

Delays in planning approval

The revised master plan for Hoi An city until 2035, with a vision to 2050, has not yet been approved. According to Hoi An City People's Council representatives, this significantly impacts the approval and implementation of lower-level plans, as well as investment and development activities in the city.

Hoi An Ancient Town is expected to see a shortfall in entrance fees in 2024, despite regularly attracting large numbers of tourists. Photo: QT

It is known that since the end of 2023, the People's Committee of Quang Nam province has repeatedly urged relevant parties to accelerate the progress of the general planning of Hoi An city. In April 2024, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee also held a conference to give opinions on the revised general planning project of Hoi An city until 2035, with a vision to 2050.

In his explanation at the 15th session of the Hoi An City People's Council, Chairman of the Hoi An City People's Committee Nguyen Van Son stated that the revised master plan for Hoi An city has required consultation and explanation from six ministries over the past two years, with very strict requirements due to the unique nature of the heritage city.

"Currently, the project still has one aspect that needs clarification regarding nine provincial departments, and we are continuing to push forward. Overall, the project is almost complete, reaching the final stage before being submitted to the appraisal council, then reported to the Provincial Party Standing Committee before being submitted to the Provincial People's Committee for approval," said Mr. Nguyen Van Son.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Son, since the project is subject to provincial-level approval, a specific timeframe cannot yet be determined. However, the city is urgently completing all procedures to ensure the project is approved in January 2025.

According to the draft planning project's vision, Hoi An aims to be a type 2 urban area with some specific criteria, possessing the characteristics of a national-level specialized urban area; building Hoi An into an ecological, cultural, and tourist city of international stature, harmonious and unified in economic, social, and environmental aspects.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/hai-thai-cuc-thu-ngan-sach-hoi-an-3146121.html