The implementation of the taxation system strategy until 2010 has been passed by the Politburo. Together with the perfection and construction of new laws on taxation policies, the Draft Law on Tax Management will be submitted to the 9th National Assembly’s 9th session for approval. Typical contents of the draft law are as follows:
1. The tax administrative procedures will be simpler and more transparent to raise responsibilities and protect rights and interests of taxpayers, and create conditions for taxpayers to abide by the tax law. This law will clearly specify each kind of tax documents, tax declaration forms, tax reduction and exemption forms, tax return forms, etc to help taxpayers to self-define their responsibilities and avoid unneeded formalities as they work with tax collectors or customs officers.
The quarterly tax declaration of enterprises will be renewed. At present, business organisations and individuals must declare temporary taxes in the beginning of the year, basing on business results of the previous years to calculate tax payments in specific quarters of the year. The bill specifies that, by the end of each quarter, enterprises only need to declare corporate income tax of a quarter based on business results of that quarter. Thus, declared figures will match business results of enterprises. The draft law also provides that enterprises shall annually pay VAT, special consumption tax, resource tax and corporate income tax within 90 days before the end of the financial year of those enterprises.
The bill also stipulates tax declaration extension for enterprises in case of tax payment incompetence due to natural disasters, fires and accidents to reduce hardships for taxpayers. The deadline for tax extension is within 30 days after monthly, quarterly and additional tax payment declaration date and 60 days after the annual balance sheet is shown.
The new ruling will allow online tax declaration. Apart from directly handing tax declaration documents to tax offices or sending them by post, taxpayers can submit the e-tax documents. Taxpayers will immediately know mistakes to duly correct and supplement them, and thus, they can avoid unnecessary errors.
The draft law also stipulates the tax payment order as follows: (1) old taxes, (2) arrears taxes, (3) additional taxes, (4) law violation fines, to help taxpayers to understand responsibilities to do their duties to the State Budget and prevent taxpayers from dodging attitudes, and avoid compulsory measures from tax collection authorities.
2. The ruling specifies functions, tasks and rights of tax collection agencies more clearly to help taxpayers and supervise tax law observance. The draft law also emphasises functions to propagandise and assist taxpayers. It also stresses publicity and transparency of tax procedures and tax payment document resettlement schedules. It also attaches responsibilities of tax collectors for the document reception and settlement.
The bill clearly defines responsibilities of tax offices in building taxpayer information system to supervise, generalise, analyse and assess the law observance of taxpayers. When using taxpayer information database, tax authorities must obey taxpayer information security regulations.
Tax authorities are allowed to publicize information about taxpayers on mass media in the following cases: (1) Not declaring taxes or intentionally perjure information to evade taxes; (2) Evading taxes, appropriating taxes or dodging taxes; (3) Violating tax laws, influencing tax payment rights and duties of other individuals and organisations; and (4) Refusing to carry out requirements of tax authorities in according to the law.
The tax investigation will be applied in the following cases: periodical probes into enterprises engaged in various fields and taxpayers suspected of tax law violations; and investigations to settle tax complaints and denouncements. The draft law stipulates content order, procedure, time limit and authority of concerned sides in inspecting offices of taxpayers in order to avoid arbitrary and overlapped probes and avoid obstacles against normal operations of taxpayers.
The tax scrutiny will be carried out if taxpayers seem to evade or appropriate taxes, or when authorities need to prevent the above deeds, or when an examination and appraisal from authoritative agency is needed. Through investigations, if taxpayers seem to violate criminal laws, documents, exhibits and proof will be sent to relevant bodies.
The coercive measures in the draft law include:(1) Deducting money of coerced objectives at treasuries, banks and/or credit organisations, requesting to block accounts; (2) Deducting parts of salaries or incomes; (3) Distaining assets and auctioning them to collect enough taxes and fines; (4) Confiscating money and assets of coerced objectives being held by other organisations and individuals; (5) Stopping settling import procedures for following commodity batches; and (6) Revoking business licences and professional practice licences. In the above measures, the fourth is considered a strong one, which is normally applied when taxpayers deliberately disperse their money and assets to avoid tax payment.
Tax law violation punishments are provided in four following groups of acts:
+ As for the act of violating tax administrative procedures: fine levels and authorities are in agreement with fines applied to administrative violations.
+ As for the act of tax payment delay: the fine is equal to 0.05 per cent a day on the calculation of delayed value, lower than the current rate of 0.1-0.2 per cent a day.
+ As for the act of tax dodge: the fine rate is equal to 10 per cent of the tax deficiency and the fine is equal to 0.05 per cent of deficient tax a day.
3. The role of State agencies, organisations and individuals taking part in tax management is heightened.
State agencies, organisations and individuals take part in tax management via propaganda and education of tax laws and supervision of tax law obedience. Besides, the draft law also stipulates concrete contents of several agencies and organisations engaged in tax management:
The responsibility to provide information for tax management agencies is defined into two groups:
Group 1: Providing information about emerging facts related to taxpayers: The business-licensing agency is responsible to provide contents of business registration certificate or business registration change certificate of organisations or individuals for tax management agency within 7 days from the licensing date. The State Treasury is liable to supply information for tax management authorities about paid taxes and returned taxes of taxpayers.
Group 2: Banks, credit organisations, State housing management agencies, polices, income returning agencies and trade management agencies are to provide information in accordance with the request of tax management agencies. People’s Committees of the localities where coerced taxpayers are present, polices, State treasuries, banks, credit organisations, business licensing and profession practice licensing agencies have responsibility to cooperate with tax management agencies to coerce taxes.
MA. Nguyen Thu Ha
Vietnamese
