The threshold for taxing gold bar transactions does not affect people's hoarding.

Proposal to impose 0.1% tax on gold bar transactions and management goals

The Ministry of Finance is proposing to impose a 0.1% tax on each gold bar transaction and give the Government the right to determine the tax threshold. The policy aims to control speculation while ensuring the gold market operates transparently and stably without affecting people buying gold for savings or hoarding.

In the report sent to the Government, the Ministry of Finance presented a draft that incorporated comments from National Assembly deputies and the review report of the Economic and Financial Committee on the draft Law on Personal Income Tax (amended). This is a preparatory step before submitting it to the National Assembly Standing Committee for consideration.

The threshold for taxing gold bar transactions does not affect people's hoarding.

The auditing agency proposed to clearly distinguish between speculative transactions and hoarding.

During the consultation process, the auditing agency suggested that careful consideration should be given to tax collection so that it does not create difficulties for those who buy and sell gold for the purpose of saving or converting assets. Opinions also requested clarification of the boundary between short-term investment transactions and long-term storage purchases, thereby establishing appropriate tax rates and application methods, aiming to reduce speculation and increase transparency of the gold market.

The Ministry of Finance said the proposal has been carefully studied. Personal income tax on gold bar transactions is expected to be applied at a rate of 0.1% on the value of each transfer. The draft also gives the Government the right to decide the time of application, the tax threshold and the possibility of adjusting the tax rate according to the gold market management roadmap.

The tax threshold is designed to exclude traditional savings and hoarding transactions by people, thereby avoiding pressure on small-scale gold buyers.

New policy is expected to help limit speculation and stabilize the macro economy.

The Ministry of Finance believes that the new regulation will create a legal basis for tax collection and management of tax rates appropriate to reality. This is considered an important move because the scope of the policy's impact is quite large, aiming at stabilizing the macro-economy, tightening management of the gold market and encouraging cash flow back into production and business activities.

Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Tu from Hanoi University of Business and Technology said that tax collection will reduce the motivation to "surf" gold, help limit speculation and create a shift of capital flow to the real economy. He proposed that the tax rate for gold can refer to real estate (currently applied at 2%), and at the same time recommended applying the form of deduction at source through gold trading enterprises.

He also said that it is necessary to establish a clear tax threshold, for example, it should only be applied when people sell a certain amount of gold or more, while small transactions such as 1-2 should only be tax-exempt.

Mr. Shaokai Fan, Asia-Pacific Regional Director at the World Gold Council, noted that any tax policy on gold in Vietnam must achieve two goals: reducing speculation and not pushing people into the informal market to avoid taxes.

He also warned about the risk of fluctuations in the gold flow between Vietnam and other countries in the region. Singapore, Hong Kong or Malaysia do not collect taxes on gold, so if the tax difference is too large, gold can flow across borders. This is an important factor that Vietnam needs to consider when building a new tax policy.

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