The National Assembly voted to pass two laws: Tax Law and Law on Thrift and Anti-Waste.

At the 10th session of the 15th National Assembly on the morning of December 10, the National Assembly passed the Law on Tax Administration (amended), the Law on Personal Income Tax (amended) and the Law on Thrift and Anti-Waste with a high approval rate.

On the morning of December 10th, with a majority of delegates voting in favor, the National Assembly passed the amended Law on Tax Administration, the amended Law on Personal Income Tax, and the Law on Saving and Combating Waste.

Modernizing tax administration

With 437 out of 448 participating delegates voting in favor, representing 92.39% of the total National Assembly delegates, the National Assembly passed the draft Law on Tax Administration (amended).

The Law on Tax Administration (amended) consists of 9 Chapters and 53 Articles, built on the spirit of comprehensive innovation, ensuring full institutionalization of the policies of the Party, National Assembly and Government on institutional reform, digital transformation, and modernization of tax administration, in accordance with the new organizational model of the Tax sector.

The law takes effect from July 1, 2026, but regulations on tax management for business households, individual businesses and electronic invoices will take effect earlier, from January 1, 2026.

The amended Law on Tax Administration introduces several new points. Accordingly, the Law tightens the management of e-commerce taxes by requiring e-commerce platforms to pay taxes on behalf of sellers.

This is one of the most important measures to combat tax evasion in the digital age. The law stipulates that foreign organizations and individuals doing business on e-commerce platforms are subject to taxation.

Specifically, for households and individuals doing business on e-commerce platforms with ordering and payment functions, the platform management organization (domestic or foreign) is responsible for deducting, declaring, and paying taxes on behalf of the seller.

This regulation aims to simplify procedures for people and increase budget collection efficiency.

Notably, the new law changes the method of tax management for household businesses. Accordingly, from January 1, 2026, the method of tax management for household businesses will undergo a significant transformation. Instead of applying a flat-rate tax as before, tax calculation will be based on actual revenue generated.

The tax authorities will support the automatic creation of tax returns based on electronic invoice data generated from cash registers and connected databases from other sources. This helps to increase transparency in tax obligations and minimize risks for taxpayers.

Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong speaks. (Photo: Doan Tan/VNA)

Furthermore, the law expands the scope of those subject to temporary travel bans to prevent tax evasion. The law allows for supplementary declarations after tax audits and inspections have concluded; and promotes automatic tax refunds and exemptions.

Regarding debt resolution, the Law introduces a transitional mechanism allowing for the write-off of debts incurred before July 1, 2026, under new regulations. This helps to thoroughly resolve "fictitious" debts that are over 10 years old and no longer recoverable from businesses whose licenses have been revoked.

Official increase in personal allowance.

With 438/443 National Assembly deputies participating in the vote in favor, accounting for 92.60% of the total number of National Assembly deputies, the National Assembly passed the draft Law on Personal Income Tax (amended).

The Law on Personal Income Tax (amended) consists of 4 chapters and 30 articles with many new points: increasing family deductions, adjusting the progressive tax schedule and raising the threshold of non-taxable revenue of business households to a more appropriate level.

The law contains several new provisions compared to the current law. Notably, the law increases the personal allowance to 15.5 million VND per month. Responding to feedback from the National Assembly Standing Committee and National Assembly deputies, the Government has officially incorporated the new personal allowance into the law.

Specifically, the deduction for the taxpayer himself/herself will increase to 15.5 million VND/month (instead of 11 million VND currently); the deduction for each dependent will increase to 6.2 million VND/month (instead of 4.4 million VND currently); the Law assigns the Government to submit to the National Assembly Standing Committee to adjust these levels in the future based on fluctuations in prices and income, ensuring flexibility in accordance with the socio-economic situation.

The law also reduces tax rates for wage earners at middle-income levels. The progressive tax schedule has been revised to reduce tax liability and avoid sharp increases in tax rates between levels.

One of the provisions that attracted the attention of National Assembly delegates in discussing the draft Law is the tax policy for business households.

The National Assembly voted to pass the Law on Personal Income Tax (amended). (Photo: Doan Tan/VNA)

In response to the opinions of the National Assembly deputies, the draft Law passed by the National Assembly has raised the threshold for non-taxable revenue. Accordingly, the threshold for non-taxable revenue is raised from the current VND100 million (and VND200 million in previous draft Laws) to VND500 million/year. Thus, business households with revenue of VND500 million or less will not have to pay personal income tax.

To help manage the gold market and combat speculation, the Law stipulates the collection of personal income tax on income from the transfer of gold bars at a tax rate of 0.1% on the transfer price for each transaction.

However, to protect the interests of those hoarding gold, the government will specify a tax threshold for gold bars. Individuals who buy and sell gold for savings or safekeeping purposes below this threshold will not be taxed.

The law also expands the scope of tax exemptions to encourage labor and innovation, such as a 100% tax exemption on night work and overtime pay (instead of only exempting the higher pay portion as before); a 5-year tax exemption on income from salaries and wages of high-tech personnel and high-quality digital technology industry personnel; and tax exemption on income from the first transfer of carbon credits and green bonds.

The law is expected to take general effect from July 1, 2026. However, to help people benefit from the increased family deductions and reduced tax rates, regulations related to income from salaries, wages and business income will be applied earlier, from January 1, 2026.

Making waste prevention a mandatory regulation.

With 433/440 delegates voting in favor, accounting for 91.54% of the total number of delegates, the National Assembly passed the draft Law on Thrift and Anti-Waste.

The Law on Saving and Combating Waste consists of 6 chapters and 38 articles. Compared to the current Law on Practicing Saving and Combating Waste of 2013, the new law changes its name to "Law on Saving and Combating Waste."

According to the government, removing the word "practice" aims to highlight the urgency and decisiveness in the current context. Saving and combating waste is not merely a matter of "practice," but must become a mandatory regulation, a social ethical standard, and a decisive factor for the country to enter a new era.

Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang speaks. (Photo: Doan Tan/VNA)

The law has several notable new points in terms of content. Accordingly, the law clearly defines the scope of application between the public and private sectors, in which regulations for the state sector are mandatory, while those for production, business, and consumption activities of the people are encouraged, without deeply interfering in the management and use of resources by the private sector.

The Law expands and clarifies the concepts of "saving" and "waste," in which saving is not only using less than the norm, but also includes "using the correct norms, standards, and regimes but achieving results higher than the set target;" waste is defined as including creating barriers to socio-economic development, missing out on development opportunities for the country.

The Law also institutionalizes Party regulations, detailing wasteful behaviors in specific areas such as public finance; public investment capital; resources, energy; public assets... This helps to clearly identify behaviors for handling, avoiding misunderstandings with law-making activities.

The law dedicates a specific article to regulating the rights, obligations, and protective measures for those who fight against waste and their relatives (including spouses, parents, and children). This regulation is consistent with Regulation No. 231-QĐ/TW of the Politburo, ensuring the safety and rights of those who report or expose waste.

A new and humane aspect of the Law is found in Articles 6 and 37, which clearly distinguish between wasteful behavior due to irresponsibility and objective risks. Officials who are dynamic, innovative, creative, and willing to think outside the box and act for the common good, or who accept risks in scientific research, will be considered for exemption, waiver, or mitigation of responsibility.

The National Assembly voted to pass the Law on Thrift and Anti-Waste. (Photo: Doan Tan/VNA)

To reduce administrative burdens and ensure long-term vision, the Law stipulates that the Prime Minister shall promulgate a National Strategy on Waste Prevention and Control with a 10-year vision, instead of only establishing a Program on practicing thrift and combating waste as before.

The law stipulates the establishment of a national database on saving and combating waste, managed uniformly by the Government; and designates May 31st of each year as "National Saving and Anti-Waste Day" to spread a culture of saving throughout society.

The Law on Saving and Combating Waste will take effect from July 1, 2026. The Law on Practicing Saving and Combating Waste No. 44/2013/QH13 will cease to be in effect from this date./.

(VNA/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/quoc-hoi-bieu-quyet-thong-qua-2-luat-thue-va-luat-tiet-kiem-chong-lang-phi-post1082134.vnp