Removing numerous tax bottlenecks

The 10th session of the 15th National Assembly concluded on December 11th after 40 days of serious and intensive work. The session was a great success, completing all the planned agenda items. The National Assembly reviewed and passed 51 laws and 8 normative legal resolutions, including many laws related to tax policy.

Consumer goods are currently enjoying preferential value-added tax (VAT) rates to stimulate consumer demand. In the photo: Goods sold to consumers at supermarkets are now subject to a VAT reduction from 10% to 8%. Photo: Ngoc Lien

Several tax-related laws, such as the amended Law on Tax Administration, the amended Law on Personal Income Tax, and the Law on Value Added Tax (VAT), passed by the National Assembly at its 10th session, will contribute to removing tax bottlenecks, creating a transparent legal framework, and gradually forming a space for political , economic, cultural, and social development.

A series of tax policies were passed.

With over 89% of the National Assembly delegates voting in favor at the 10th session, the National Assembly passed the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Value Added Tax Law (effective from January 1, 2026). Accordingly, several key contents related to VAT have been amended in the Value Added Tax Law.

Besides several tax-related laws recently passed by the National Assembly, from 2026 onwards, several other tax laws and resolutions will come into effect, such as: Law No. 66/2025/QH15 on Special Consumption Tax, dated June 14, 2025, passed by the National Assembly, which increases the special consumption tax on alcohol, beer, soft drinks, and tobacco, effective from January 1, 2026; regulations on continuing to reduce the environmental protection tax on gasoline, diesel, and lubricants by 50% in 2026 according to Resolution 109/2025/UBTVQH15 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly; and regulations extending the exemption of agricultural land use tax until the end of 2030 according to Resolution 216/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly.

Specifically, goods exempt from VAT are defined as unprocessed or only minimally processed agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products produced, caught, and sold by organizations/individuals, and imported without VAT; enterprises and cooperatives that purchase these products and resell them to other enterprises and cooperatives are also exempt from VAT according to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance; waste, by-products, and scrap materials recovered during the production process are subject to the tax rate according to the specific type of waste, by-product, or scrap material; input VAT on goods and services not subject to VAT is fully deductible…

Along with the Value Added Tax Law, the Personal Income Tax Law and the amended Tax Administration Law were also passed at the 10th session of the 15th National Assembly. Among these, the amendments to the amended Personal Income Tax Law, passed by the National Assembly on December 10th with the approval of over 92% of attending delegates, attracted the most public attention.

With the personal allowance for taxpayers increased to 15.5 million VND/month, workers will see a reduction in their tax burden in the coming period. (Illustration photo: Ngoc Lien)

The amended Personal Income Tax Law has received the approval of the public and businesses with its revised provisions aimed at fairness and humanity, such as: increasing the personal allowance for taxpayers from VND 11 million/month to VND 15.5 million/month; and the allowance for dependents to VND 6.2 million/month. The personal income tax calculation method has been adjusted from a 7-tier progressive tax system to a 5-tier system, with the intervals between tiers increasing steadily from VND 10, 20, 30, and 40 million, corresponding to tax rates of 5%, 10%, 20%, and 30%, respectively. Income tax exceeding VND 100 million will be subject to a 35% tax rate.

In addition, the amended Personal Income Tax Law, which was passed, also uniformly adjusted the tax-exempt revenue threshold for household and individual businesses from VND 200 million/year to VND 500 million/year. Simultaneously, the corresponding VAT-exempt revenue threshold was also adjusted to VND 500 million/year.

Previously, during the Ministry of Finance's presentations to the National Assembly, the Ministry also predicted that when this revenue threshold was applied, approximately 90% of business households nationwide would not have to pay taxes (about 2.3 million individuals and business households).

Creating a favorable environment for the private sector.

Following the merger, Dong Nai province became the "agricultural capital" of Vietnam in both crop cultivation and livestock farming. The province has nearly 1.1 million hectares of agricultural land, including hundreds of thousands of hectares planted with industrial crops. In addition, Dong Nai has many businesses operating in the wood production and trading sector, resulting in a relatively large volume of raw materials such as industrial crops and forestry products. Therefore, the exemption of VAT for unprocessed or only partially processed agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products produced, caught, and sold by individuals/organizations, as well as imported goods not subject to VAT; businesses and cooperatives purchasing these products and reselling them to other businesses and cooperatives; and by-products and waste products, etc., is of great interest and support to many people and businesses. These issues will contribute to providing businesses with additional capital to improve production and business efficiency, creating favorable conditions for enterprises.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang, owner of a plywood manufacturing facility in Long Binh ward, shared: With the policy of exempting unprocessed agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products from taxes, his business will not have to "pay in advance" a tax amount to wait for a refund (under the old regulations, businesses had to temporarily pay VAT in advance and receive a refund later). This means Mr. Hoang's business will have the opportunity to rotate capital, increasing production and business efficiency.

Dong Nai is among the top provinces nationwide in terms of budget revenue. Regarding personal income tax revenue, in 2024, Dong Nai province collected over 6.7 trillion VND, making it one of the province's important revenue sources. With the new personal income tax policy, many households and individuals benefit more from fulfilling their tax obligations.

Ms. Tran Thi Bich Phuong, chief accountant of a foreign-invested company in Bien Hoa 2 Industrial Park (Long Binh ward), said: With a salary of over 50 million VND/month, the new personal income tax policy has helped her significantly reduce her tax burden, allowing her to better care for her family.

“My family has two young children, and my husband is in poor health and unable to do heavy labor. Furthermore, we also live with our elderly parents, so for a long time, the whole family has relied on my main income. This new personal income tax policy will help me reduce my monthly financial burden. Not only me, but many employees at the company will also benefit from tax reductions thanks to the new policy recently passed by the National Assembly,” Ms. Phuong shared.

Ngoc Lien

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202512/thao-go-nhieu-diem-nghen-ve-thue-2f3238d/