'The wind blows the private economic kite far'

Vice Chairman of the Committee for Culture and Society Ta Van Ha acknowledged that private enterprises are currently facing many bottlenecks.

On May 16, the National Assembly discussed in the hall the draft Resolution of the National Assembly on mechanisms and policies for private economic development. National Assembly deputies said that this is an important and timely step to institutionalize the consistent guiding viewpoint of the Party, especially in the documents of the 13th National Congress and recently Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW of the Politburo , considering the private economy an important driving force of the economy.

Must be removed to develop

At the discussion session, Vice Chairman of the Committee for Culture and Society Ta Van Ha acknowledged that private enterprises are currently facing many bottlenecks that must be removed in order to develop.

According to Mr. Ha, Resolution 68 of the Politburo on private economic development is a breakthrough, unlocking internal resources to promote the country's economic development in the new era. Delegates expect "this resolution to be like a gust of wind blowing the kite of the private economy to fly far".

However, he was concerned that the provisions in the draft resolution were still "not strong enough"; some contents were already included in previously issued laws and resolutions, such as ensuring the principle of presumption of innocence stated in the Constitution, so it was not a special mechanism for private enterprises.

"Policy implementation needs to be stable and supplemented with support for resolving trade disputes and international integration. Businesses also need policy stability. Many startups have just invested heavily, but policies change, so they have to go back to the starting point, which is very difficult," Mr. Ha stated the reality.

Regarding the principles of state management of the private economic sector (Article 4 of the draft Resolution), Delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga ( Hai Duong Delegation) agreed with the policy of strongly shifting from pre-inspection to post-inspection, especially in the management of business conditions. This is a direction in line with international practices, contributing to reducing compliance costs for businesses, encouraging start-ups, innovation and production expansion.

However, the Russian delegate said that without a strong, transparent and effective post-audit mechanism, this policy can easily become a loophole for businesses to exploit.

"In reality, many subjects have taken advantage of the open policy to set up hundreds of companies that do not actually operate, buy and sell invoices, evade taxes, launder money, cause budget losses and distort the competitive environment." Therefore, the Delegate suggested that in order to implement the Resolution, the Government needs to clearly supplement specific requirements for the post-audit system: Connecting data between tax, customs and banking agencies; strengthening inspection and examination work; applying digital technology in supervision; considering building sanctions with sufficient deterrence. At the same time, it is necessary to clearly stipulate the sectors and fields that are required to be pre-audited, based on risks and international experience, to avoid widespread or loose application.

Regarding policies to support science, technology, innovation, digital transformation and human resource training (Chapter V), delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga assessed that the draft Resolution's regulations are very general and not strong enough.

For example, "providing free legal consulting services, training on business administration, accounting, tax, human resources, and law for small and micro enterprises, business households, and individual businesses" is necessary but too general.

Delegates proposed that the Government provide more specific regulations on the list of services provided free of charge and supported jobs so that the implementation process can be unified and clear.

Delegate Tran Thi Van (Bac Ninh delegation) speaks at the parliament

Must have attractive and competitive policies

Delegate Tran Thi Van (Bac Ninh Delegation) said that the draft Resolution stipulates 4 groups of subjects eligible for tax exemption and reduction as stipulated in Article 10. Compared to other incentive policies such as credit incentives, land access, human resource training, and administrative procedure reform, tax exemption and reduction support has a quick impact, does not require many procedures, helps start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises overcome the initial difficult period, and improves competitiveness.

To make this policy effective when implemented, delegates proposed to increase the corporate income tax exemption period to 5 years, then continue to reduce 50% of the tax payable in the next 5 years instead of 2-year tax exemption and 50% reduction in the next 4 years as stated in Clause 1, Article 10 of the draft Resolution.

The delegates analyzed that the characteristics of the group of innovative startups require large investment capital and long investment periods to research, develop products, test business models, build technology, recruit and retain high-quality staff, and continuously adjust to adapt to market fluctuations. During that process, they must accept the risk of loss, and may even not make a profit in the first 5-7 years.

"Exempting corporate income tax for only 2 years and reducing 50% of tax for the next 4 years as in the draft Resolution is too short compared to the actual development cycle of innovative startups; not strong enough to encourage businesses and invest in production and business development," said Delegate Tran Thi Van.

Therefore, tax policies need to be designed to accompany businesses in the initial formation and accumulation stages. Extending the tax exemption and reduction period will create important financial space, helping businesses focus resources on innovation. This is also a practical solution for the State to demonstrate its role in creating and nurturing the startup ecosystem, a pioneering force contributing to promoting sustainable economic growth.

Delegate Tran Thi Van also proposed to extend the personal income tax exemption period to 5 years for income from salaries and wages of experts and scientists received from innovative start-up enterprises.

According to the delegates, experts and scientists are the core personnel, directly creating technological value, innovating and bringing products to the market. Practice shows that many countries have very strong competition policies in this field.

"If we do not have attractive and competitive policies, we will miss the opportunity to attract talent and find it difficult to create technological breakthroughs in the future," emphasized Delegate Tran Thi Van.

Special solutions are required.

Delegate Tran Hoang Ngan (Ho Chi Minh City Delegation) highly appreciated the efforts of the National Assembly Standing Committee and the Government to promptly institutionalize the Party's policy and Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW of the Politburo on private economic development.

"This resolution is of particular importance as the country is accelerating its development into a new era. The private economic sector accounts for 51% of GDP and contributes 33% of the total state budget revenue, so it needs many special support mechanisms to promote its role as the most important driving force by 2030," said Mr. Tran Hoang Ngan.

The draft resolution sets a target of 2 million enterprises by 2030. Delegates said that to achieve this target, there must be special solutions. Currently, the country only increases by about 30,000 - 40,000 enterprises each year, so in order to reach 2 million enterprises in 5 years, there must be policies to support individual business households to become enterprises. Along with that, it is necessary to improve and expand larger-scale enterprises.

Agreeing with the policies to support access to land and production and business premises, delegate Tran Hoang Ngan proposed adding content that localities with land, potential and strengths should create a mechanism to establish industrial parks for private enterprises and small and medium enterprises to rent with support policies.

"To be economically independent and self-reliant, the private sector must grow; therefore, there needs to be provisions to encourage localities to create clean land for the private economic sector," the delegate pointed out.

Further clarifying the opinions of the delegates, Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang said that the regulations and policies stated in the draft resolution aim to institutionalize the contents of Resolution 68 of the Politburo.

Regarding the content of inspection, examination, bankruptcy settlement, handling of violations of cases... Mr. Thang said that the draft resolution only provides regulations of a principle nature, ensuring compliance with the policy of Resolution 68. That means inspection and examination activities will shift strongly from pre-inspection to post-inspection and will not reduce the effectiveness of State management and business operations. In case a business shows signs of violations, the agencies still have the right to conduct surprise inspections and examinations.

Minister Nguyen Van Thang said he will absorb and complete the draft resolution to make it practical, feasible and consistent with current regulations.

The National Assembly is expected to vote and pass this draft resolution on the morning of May 17.

Phuong Lien

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/luong-gio-thoi-canh-dieu-kinh-te-tu-nhan-bay-xa-102250516144823422.htm