Recently, the Ministry of Construction has proposed taxing ownership of multiple properties to limit speculative activities.
The above proposal was stated by the Ministry of Construction in a report sent to the Office of the Government on the reasons for the increase in real estate prices. The Ministry of Finance was asked to study and advise on tax policies for second homes or abandoned, unused properties.
This is not the first time this proposal has been made, but so far the final solution has not been finalized. Because real estate is a very complicated field, the authorities when imposing taxes also consider and collect opinions comprehensively and cautiously, avoiding imposing taxes that are far from reality and affecting the people as well as the economy.
This information is of interest to many people, but there are also many concerns and worries.
Ms. Pham Thi Hong (51 years old, in Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi) shared: "My son just got married and wants to buy a house for him to live on his own. If it is still under my husband and I's name, why should we tax it? I support taxing second homes, but when buying and leaving them abandoned, or having behaviors that negatively affect the market."
According to Ms. Hong, even if people have 2-3 houses, they can rent them out as medical facilities in places lacking medical services, as kindergartens, mini supermarkets in areas where the demand for these services has not been met. These are legitimate actions that need to be supported because they help create essential services in places where infrastructure is lacking. This is also the basis for creating more jobs for many industries, benefiting society, and contributing more taxes to the state budget.
"That means, regardless of the tax, the biggest goal to aim for is to create wealth and added value for society. Real estate taxation needs to be carefully considered based on that principle," said Ms. Hong.
Ms. Hong added that for home buyers with real housing needs, the government needs to clearly regulate this issue. Taxes are a tool to regulate behavior, not to damage the market. People should not be taxed every time they buy a second property.
Regarding this issue, in an interview with reporters, financial expert Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Tu - Lecturer at Hanoi University of Business and Technology - said that in order to levy property tax, it is necessary to control real estate transactions first.
"As long as there is still a situation of real estate being transferred without going through banks or real estate trading floors, taxing assets will be extremely difficult because it is impossible to prove how much assets someone has to tax them," Mr. Tu said.
According to Mr. Tu, when it is impossible to know how many properties a person owns, taxation only distorts the real estate market, making housing scarcer and making it difficult for people with average and below average incomes to access housing.
Therefore, in parallel with taxation, many solutions need to be implemented to synchronize and eliminate legal loopholes.
