Vietnam Prepared for Lower Tax Revenue on WTO Entry

The Vietnamese Government has prepared a plan to deal with the reduced taxation revenue after Vietnam joins the World Trade Organization, said Finance Minister Vu Van Ninh.

 

On the sidelines of the final National Assembly sitting of the year opened in Hanoi on Tuesday, Ninh said the WTO rules would force many tax cuts, Vietnam, however, can counter this by increasing its export earnings and perhaps by “adjusting the duties on oil exploration and refining.”

 

Vietnam has just started the international integration process, so it still relies more on indirect than direct taxation, but this will have to change eventually so that personal income tax plays a more important role, Ninh said.

 

As Vietnam is about to enter WTO, all sectors have to make great efforts to cut costs and become more efficient, he said.

 

Despite lower tax revenue, “we have to cut these subsidies in accordance with market rules,” the Finance Minister said.