Tax officers guide business households on procedures for adjusting and supplementing tax registration information - Photo: HUU HANH
So what is the reasonable and fair taxable revenue threshold for other taxable entities?
Ministry of Finance proposes over 500 million VND/year
On November 27, the Ministry of Finance submitted a document to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc on receiving and explaining the opinions of delegates on the draft Law on Personal Income Tax (amended). In particular, one of the important contents that the public is particularly interested in is the threshold of taxable revenue for business households and individuals proposed by the Ministry of Finance to be raised to 500 million VND/year instead of the previously proposed level of 200 million VND.
According to the Ministry of Finance, this revenue threshold ensures that it is equivalent to the income from salaries and wages of individuals. Business households and individuals will pay tax on the revenue above this threshold.
"According to data as of October, there are more than 2.54 million business households regularly paying taxes. If this revenue level is applied, it is expected that about 2.3 million business households will not have to pay taxes, accounting for about 90% of the total number of business households paying taxes," the Ministry of Finance reported.
Regarding the tax calculation plan for households and individuals doing business with revenue from over 500 million VND/year to 3 billion VND/year, the Ministry of Finance proposed to add regulations to apply tax calculation based on income, i.e. revenue - expenses. This level ensures tax collection according to the nature of personal income tax and applies a tax rate of 15% like micro-enterprises.
Accordingly, all business households and individuals must pay taxes based on their actual income. If they have little income, they must pay less, and if they have no income, they must not pay taxes. Therefore, the level of tax-free revenue will no longer have much impact on tax-paying business households and individuals.
In case the business households and individuals cannot determine the expenses, they will pay tax at the current tax rate of 0.5%, 1%, 2% on revenue depending on the industry, for the revenue over 500 million VND. This content will be proposed to the National Assembly for approval in the Law on Personal Income Tax (amended) and applied from the tax period of 2026.
The representative of the Ministry of Finance's drafting committee explained that allowing taxpayers to deduct the revenue threshold before calculating income tax is to ensure the true nature of this tax. That is, only when there is income must tax be paid.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Cuc, President of the Vietnam Tax Consulting Association, assessed that the latest point of this proposal is that only when the revenue exceeds the threshold, business households and individuals must pay tax. This is good news for business people, meaning that when there is new income, they must pay tax, not from the first revenue as before.
To be more specific, Ms. Cuc analyzed: currently, business households with revenue of 100 million VND/year or less do not have to pay tax. But with revenue of 101 million VND, the business household must pay tax on the entire revenue of 101 million VND. In the future, business households will only have to pay tax on the part above 500 million VND.
The taxable revenue threshold for business households is expected to be raised to more than 500 million VND/year, but many opinions say it is still unreasonable, causing pressure on people. In the photo: food stalls at Ben Thanh market - Photo: HUU HANH
Revenue threshold should be divided by industry
However, Ms. Nguyen Hong Hanh, a tax agent (Hanoi), said that the information that the Ministry of Finance initially planned to raise the taxable revenue threshold for business households to 200 million VND/year and then to 300 million VND/year was too low.
Because a business household is usually a family business with at least two employees. Two employees usually have two dependents. Therefore, the threshold for taxable revenue for business households raised to over 500 million VND/year as proposed above by the Ministry of Finance is very good news for small businesses.
Speaking with Tuoi Tre, delegate Hoang Van Cuong, a member of the National Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee, expressed his appreciation for the fact that the drafting agency had accepted the opinions of many National Assembly delegates and the people, raising the threshold of non-taxable revenue for business households and individuals to an appropriate level.
Regarding the specific revenue threshold, Mr. Cuong continued to propose that it is necessary to separate to see for each type of business, what percentage of revenue income accounts for, from which to calculate the appropriate threshold.
In particular, for service industries that do not have to spend on raw materials, the revenue threshold needs to be raised to 500 million VND/year. For manufacturing and service industries that have raw material costs, the revenue threshold needs to be at 1 billion VND/year. If only selling or acting as an agent, the revenue threshold needs to be at 1.5 billion VND/year.
"The drafting agency should evaluate and research to immediately adjust this threshold in the Personal Income Tax Law project currently submitted to the National Assembly. At the same time, amend related tax bills to ensure consistency in implementation when approved by the National Assembly and apply immediately from the 2026 tax period," delegate Cuong suggested.
It is expected that business households will be taxed on revenue over 500 million VND/year - Photo: HUU HANH
There should be a thorough survey.
In industries where the cost of capital is quite heavy, such as milk and cosmetics retail, Ms. Hoang Le, Binh Loi Trung Ward (HCMC), said that her profit margin on revenue is not high, not to mention a series of other expenses that arise. Therefore, she recommended that the Ministry of Finance should conduct a thorough survey to come up with a suitable tax threshold as well as fairness for other taxable subjects, such as salaried workers.
Attorney Tran Xoa, Director of Minh Dang Quang Law Firm, suggests that for salaried employees with one dependent, the family deduction is 21.7 million VND/month. This is a reasonable living level.
"Therefore, I propose that the taxable revenue threshold for business households should be 1 billion VND/year, above which tax will be calculated based on the excess to be fair to salaried workers and give them enough income to live on. What passes through the sieve will fall through the basket, we should not be too meticulous and apply too low a taxable revenue threshold for business households because it will be outdated as soon as it is applied," Mr. Xoa proposed.
Tax burden on wage earners
In addition to the above content, the Ministry of Finance reported amending the progressive tax schedule in part towards reducing the tax rates of 15% and 25% to 10 and 20% of tax rates 2 and 3.
With this new tax schedule, the Ministry of Finance assesses that all individuals currently paying taxes at all levels will receive tax reductions compared to the current tax rate. In addition, the new tax schedule also overcomes the sudden increase at some levels 2 and 3 as proposed above, ensuring a more reasonable tax schedule.
Talking to Tuoi Tre, Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Tu, a tax expert, agreed with the Ministry of Finance's proposal to reduce the tax rate of the progressive tax schedule for the income of salaried workers. However, the tax schedule according to the proposal of the Ministry of Finance still creates pressure and a great burden for salaried workers.
Mr. Tu analyzed that the gap between tax levels is still too thick, such as level 1, taxable income of 10 million VND is subject to a tax rate of 5%, level 2 is over 10 to 30 million VND, level 3 is over 30 million to 60 million VND, level 4 is over 60 million to 100 million VND and the final level is over 100 million VND.
On the other hand, the tax rates at levels 2 and 3 have been reduced compared to the previous proposal but are still very high, creating a tax burden for wage earners. If not raised, it will be out of step with the practical situation.
"Tax rates need to be further reduced at each level, especially levels 2 and 3. Because the first three tax levels belong to the common income group, lower tax rates should be applied. From levels 1 to 5, the corresponding rates should be 5%, 10%, 15%, 25% and 35%. At the same time, the gap between tax levels should be widened further. Taxable income at level 1 should be raised to 20 million VND or the last level should be above 180 - 200 million VND," Mr. Tu proposed.
Delegate TRAN VAN LAM (Bac Ninh):
Avoid letting businesses suffer
The Ministry of Finance's announcement that it will continue to consider raising the taxable revenue threshold for business households demonstrates a high sense of responsibility towards the people and the opinions of voters. All of them want to create a favorable and equal business environment for all economic sectors to develop.
According to the plan proposed by the Ministry of Finance, if it is possible to calculate tax on profits for business households like enterprises, it is an optimal and equitable solution, there is nothing to argue about.
At that time, starting from the starting level and from how much interest, on the basis of the law will be collected according to the correct rate. We need to set such a long-term goal.
However, not all businesses can do this all the time, and many businesses cannot calculate costs or calculate profits and losses. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate based on revenue. However, when calculating based on revenue, there are two factors that need to be determined to ensure.
First, calculate the starting level and the corresponding upper level. Second, it is necessary to calculate the mobilization rate on revenue so that the total tax rate on revenue for business households corresponds to the tax rate on revenue of the whole economy.
In other words, business people who pay taxes pay the same tax rate on their revenue as all other components who pay taxes on their revenue. When equal, there will be no disadvantage or discrimination.
It is also important to note that in reality, each business sector has a different rate of difference. For small retail businesses, a price difference of 3-5% is too much, if the tax rate is 1-5%, it means "all the profit" of the business is gone.
But services such as haircuts and shampoos can cost 30-50% or construction has a different price difference. Therefore, for each industry and field, it is necessary to calculate and determine how much the mobilization level is and what the difference rate is, from there, come up with a tax contribution level that is consistent and harmonious, avoiding disadvantages for business households.
Regarding the specific threshold, it must be calculated based on data for each industry and field to come up with. Tax policy is not only a budget collection tool, but also a social security lever.
"Relaxing the people" at this time is to nurture a sustainable source of income for the future. If we maintain direct tax rates that are too high and tax thresholds that are too low, we will unintentionally create barriers that make businesses afraid to "grow up" and afraid of transparency.
Delegate NGUYEN HUU THONG (Lam Dong):
Nurturing future income streams
The Ministry of Finance’s announcement that it will continue to consider raising the taxable revenue threshold for business households demonstrates a receptive spirit. In reality, for a business household to maintain a basic life in an urban area, a net profit of about 20 million VND/month is needed.
With an average profit margin of about 10% of revenue, a business household must achieve a revenue of 200 million VND/month, equivalent to 2.4 billion VND/year to have 20 million VND.
If based on actual living expenses, revenue must reach about 2.4 billion VND/year to have enough money to pay taxes.
Currently, the family deduction for salaried employees from the 2026 tax period has been increased to 15.5 million VND/month for themselves. To have a net income equal to this level, a business household needs to achieve a revenue of 1.2 - 1.5 billion VND/year. Therefore, the Ministry of Finance needs to study to increase the threshold of taxable revenue for business households accordingly.
In fact, the household business force is being identified as a potential to develop millions of small, medium and even large-scale enterprises in the coming time. Therefore, "nurturing" household businesses is also a driving force to successfully implement Resolution 68 of the Politburo on private economic development, while nurturing a sustainable source of income for the future.
Lawyer NGUYEN VAN DUOC (General Director of Trong Tin Accounting and Tax Consulting Company Limited):
Tax thresholds must be fair
I appreciate the spirit of the Ministry of Finance's approach to taxing personal income based on income, meaning that only businesses must pay tax when they have income. The method of calculating tax based on income overcomes the situation of double tax and loss still having to pay tax as before.
In addition, the Ministry of Finance still has a plan to pay tax on revenue at a rate for business households. Because for business households, calculating the full input costs in the initial period of applying the declared tax is not possible.
Therefore, calculating the rate based on revenue above the revenue threshold is the simplest and most convenient. Business households have the right to choose the most beneficial, most suitable and correct tax calculation method for their business scale and industry.
The deduction of taxable revenue threshold for business households ensures fairness among subjects, especially with the family deduction for salaried employees. This content will ensure rights and encourage business households to do business with peace of mind.
Poll
The Ministry of Finance proposed that the taxable revenue threshold for business households is 500 million VND/year, according to you:
You can select 1 item. Your vote will be public.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nguong-doanh-thu-chiu-thue-voi-ho-kinh-doanh-bao-nhieu-la-hop-ly-20251129084407039.htm
Comment (0)