Special consumption tax contributes to people's consumption orientation

(Chinhphu.vn) - Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee for Culture and Society Nguyen Dac Vinh said that special consumption tax will guide people's consumption. However, for essential goods that are widely used by people, putting them under the consumption tax will cause prices to increase, affecting people.

Air conditioners with a capacity of over 24,000 BTU to 90,000 BTU are subject to tax.

Presenting the report explaining and accepting the revision of the draft Law on Special Consumption Tax (amended) at the 46th session of the National Assembly Standing Committee on June 4, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Committee Phan Van Mai said that the Standing Committee of the Review Committee agreed with the proposal of the Drafting Agency to stipulate that air conditioners with a capacity of over 24,000 BTU to 90,000 BTU are subject to tax (no tax is collected for air conditioners with a capacity of 24,000 BTU or less and those with a capacity of over 90,000 BTU).

Regarding the issue of taxable sugary soft drinks and additional taxable subjects, the Standing Committee of the Inspection Agency said that according to the provisions of the draft Law, taxable sugary soft drinks are products within the concept of soft drinks according to Vietnamese Standards with a sugar content of over 5g/100ml, excluding beverages such as milk and dairy products; liquid foods used for nutritional purposes; natural mineral water and bottled water; pure vegetable and fruit juices and nectars of vegetables, fruits and cocoa products.

Accordingly, products such as natural fruit juice, coconut water, dairy products, liquid foods used for nutritional purposes, etc. are not subject to special consumption tax.

The report stated that there are many different opinions on the addition of other sugary products as well as other goods and services to the taxable list as proposed by some National Assembly deputies. Some products have also been raised by the Drafting Agency during the process of developing the Law project. However, up to now, there has not been enough impact assessment to serve as a basis and clearly demonstrate the superiority, feasibility and appropriateness of taxing these goods and services in the current context.

These contents will continue to be carefully studied and evaluated, taking into account the production and business recovery goals of enterprises, and will be reported to the National Assembly at the appropriate time.

Therefore, the Appraisal Agency proposes that the National Assembly allow keeping the draft Law (from 2027, apply tax rate of 8%, from 2028, apply tax rate of 10%).

Regarding the collection of special consumption tax on gasoline, the Standing Committee of the Inspection Agency stated that, as the National Assembly delegates suggested, in the long term, it is necessary to study a plan to synchronously amend both special consumption tax and environmental protection tax in order to tax this item reasonably and in accordance with international practices.

In the context of the need to synchronously deploy solutions to effectively implement the commitments of the Vietnamese Government at the COP26 Conference, along with regulations on collecting environmental protection tax, the collection of special consumption tax on gasoline in the current period is still necessary. Therefore, it is proposed that the National Assembly keep the draft Law - the Standing Committee of the Appraisal Agency expressed its opinion.

Regarding non-taxable objects, during the discussion, there was a proposal to add airplanes, helicopters, and gliders used for ambulance and rescue purposes to the non-taxable objects.

Agreeing with the opinions of the National Assembly delegates, the Standing Committee of the Committee believes that airplanes, helicopters, and gliders used for medical evacuation, rescue, and agricultural production are humanitarian activities, supporting farmers in agricultural production, not for commercial purposes, not luxury consumer goods, and production should be limited and consumption regulated.

Therefore, taking into account the opinions of National Assembly deputies, the Standing Committee of the Committee agrees with the proposal of the Drafting Agency to add airplanes, helicopters, and gliders used for ambulance, rescue, and agricultural production purposes as exempt from tax.

Chairman of the Committee for Culture and Society Nguyen Dac Vinh said that special consumption tax will guide people's consumption.

Special consumption tax will guide people's consumption

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Vu Hong Thanh said that the special consumption tax on air conditioners is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions - the cause of global warming and global climate change. However, this is also an essential item, the Vice Chairman of the National Assembly said that all consumption tax on this item should be removed.

According to the Vice Chairman of the National Assembly, a delegate proposed to only tax the technology used in air conditioning. If the greenhouse gas emissions of the technology are low, the tax will be low; and if the unit applies technology with high greenhouse gas emissions, the tax will be high. This is also one of the solutions to encourage and promote science, technology, and innovation.

Chairman of the Committee for Culture and Society Nguyen Dac Vinh said that special consumption tax will guide people's consumption. However, for essential goods that are widely used by people, putting them under the consumption tax will cause prices to increase, affecting people.

Chairman of the Law and Justice Committee Hoang Thanh Tung said that the regulation that air conditioners with a capacity of over 24,000 BTU to 90,000 BTU are subject to tax has resolved the wishes of a large number of air conditioner users. Because currently, the commonly used air conditioners have a capacity of 24,000 BTU or less.

However, the Chairman of the Law and Justice Committee agreed with the opinion of Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Vu Hong Thanh that special consumption tax on air conditioners should be considered. In particular, it is possible to switch to environmental protection tax on technology and equipment that cause environmental pollution.

Deputy Minister of Finance Cao Anh Tuan said that air conditioners with a capacity of less than 90,000 BTU are widely used, consume a lot of electricity and are one of the factors causing global warming.

The reason for this is that the coolants in air conditioners are harmful to the ozone layer, negatively affecting the environment and climate. The Deputy Minister said that many countries in the world have to apply for permits for several years before they can install air conditioners.

Therefore, absorbing the opinions of delegates in previous discussion sessions, the drafting and reviewing agency continues to stipulate that air conditioners with a capacity of over 24,000 BTU to 90,000 BTU are subject to tax.

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai said that although there are still concerns, the National Assembly Standing Committee agreed to stipulate that air conditioners with a capacity of 24,000 BTU to 90,000 BTU are subject to tax (no tax is collected for air conditioners with a capacity of 24,000 BTU or less and those with a capacity of over 90,000 BTU).

Agree on the collection of special consumption tax on gasoline as reported in the acceptance and explanation of the draft law, however, request the Government to clarify the concerns of the delegates to ensure persuasiveness.

Particularly for alcohol, beer and sugary soft drinks, we recommend that the Government assess the impact more carefully with more convincing grounds.

Hai Lien

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/thue-tieu-thu-dac-biet-gop-dinh-huong-tieu-dung-cua-nguoi-dan-102250604165918764.htm