Being fully aware that businesses are the main source of tax, the Tax Department of Quang Binh province always supports and facilitates local businesses to overcome difficulties with a variety of consistent solutions. The tax service has focused on tax administrative procedure reform and information technology application to tax administration. Vietnam Business Forum has an interview with Mr Ngo Huu Can, Director of the Department of Taxation of Quang Binh province, on these issues. Khanh Huyen reports.
How do you assess tax revenue in the first six months of 2014 in Quang Binh province?
Stepping into 2014, the tax sector saw difficulties and challenges to complete the tax revenue target because the impacts of economic slowdown were still felt, and damage from two devastating storms at the end of 2013 have not been remedied. Many big companies in wood, rubber, seafood and construction industries failed to achieve their targets, thus hurting tax revenue collection.
However, with its effort, the tax sector collected nearly VND1,548 billion of tax as of September 30, 2014, equal to 84.2 percent of the full-year plan and 36.7 percent higher than that in the same period of 2013. Notably, major sources of tax achieved or exceeded the target. Tax revenue from private industry, commerce and service fulfilled 83 percent of the plan and grew 31.9 percent over the corresponding period of 2013; registration fee reached 87 percent of the estimation and jumped 116 percent year on year; land tax collection equalled 156.9 percent of the plan and soared 133.7 percent from a year earlier; and environmental protection tax exceeded 34.4 percent of the plan and surged 85.4 percent year on year. Quang Binh province’s tax service will strive to collect over VND2 trillion in tax as of December 31, exceeding the target set by the Provincial People's Council by 9-10 percent.
How is the Quang Binh Tax Department implementing its business support policy?
Seriously responding to the direction of the Government as well as the Provincial People’s Council and the Provincial People's Committee on support and troubleshooting for local production and business operations, the tax service of Quang Binh province has actively implemented a lot of consistent solutions, with a focus placed on tax administrative reform and tax administration modernisation. In addition to reviewing and reducing tax administrative procedures and applying the single-window mechanism, the department has coordinated with relevant agencies to deploy online tax management project.
In 2012, all eight districts, towns and cities had nearly 2,300 taxpayers declare tax online, or nearly 80 percent of the total. As of December 31, 2014, 90 percent of taxpayers will declare tax online. From August 2014, 55 more taxpayers registered to declare tax online and the sector expects to have an additional 150 companies use this service by the end of 2014.
Tax reform and renovation has helped the tax sector reduce the time to update and look up tax data.
Do you have any advice and recommendations to bolster economic development, improve the investment and business climate and raise the PCI ranking of Quang Binh?
To effectively implement socioeconomic development tasks, improve attraction investment and business environment and thus raise the province’s provincial competitiveness index (PCI) ranking, we need, first of all, to renovate and build a consistent mechanism, provide social and economic development programmes and policies to attract and encourage investors; facilitate investors and businesses to access incentives and important projects of the province; support investors and businesses to scale up production, enhance competitiveness and sustain development.
The tax sector will also actively coordinate with relevant departments to remove difficulties against enterprises and support them to expand business operations in the spirit of its service philosophy, “Tax authority is the companion of businesses.”
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