"I was worried that if I declared it for the truth, I would pay more than those who circumvented the law"
After more than 20 years of selling groceries in Ha Nam, Ms. N.T.L never thought she would have to "set up a computer to print invoices". Since knowing that the business household could switch to the declaration method instead of contract tax, she felt more worried than expected.
"Before, I paid 1.2 million VND/month. If the actual revenue was declared and multiplied by a percentage, it would have to pay more. While others do not declare or connect to any software, it is still the same."
Not only Ms. L., many small businesses - from breakfast stalls, grocery stores to car repairs - share similar concerns. They did not object to the declaration, but said that if there were no synchronous control measures, those who did the right thing would suffer.
"I sell retail, customers pay cash. If I caught a receipt and declared it every day, I would immediately lose to a few black market sellers, without any machines" - another trader expressed.
On forums, many business households also expressed the same concern. Some people say: "Not afraid of taxes, but afraid of doing the right thing, you pay a lot, but if others do the wrong thing, it's okay".
Another added: "What to do when the cost of compliance is high, competition is at a disadvantage for law-loving people? If tax is collected as a percentage of revenue, why not force everyone to declare fairly? ".
Many people say they do not fight against declaration, but if only a group of serious people submit more, it will "loses the motivation to do the right thing".
No tax rate increase, but increase actual obligations - and increase worries
According to Circular 32/2025/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance, from June 1, 2025, business households with revenue of over 1 billion VND/year and in a number of sectors such as food, retail, hospitality, transportation, etc. will be encouraged to use electronic invoices generated from cash registers with data connection with tax authorities.
However, if a business household has registered to use an electronic invoice before June 1, they are not required to switch to using a cash register, but can continue to use the current form of electronic invoices.
In addition, from 2026, the tax sector is oriented to gradually replace the contract method with the declaration method for large-scale business households, in order to be more transparent in management.
Currently, the contracted household pays a fixed monthly amount (tax), calculated on estimated revenue. When switching to declaration, revenue will be specifically determined based on data from electronic invoices, cash registers, and data connection means.
Talking to Lao Dong, Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Tu (tax expert) analyzed: The problem is that business households are experiencing a big and sudden change, causing shock for many business households. They are afraid of paying high taxes.
"The core of the problem is that in the past, business people often chose the form of contract tax with a low payment rate - an average of only about 700,000 to 1 million VND per month, equivalent to a contract revenue of only about 70 million VND.
However, when switching to practical declaration, the revenue can be many times higher and the tax can be up to 7 - 15 million VND/month, which is 10 times higher. This is clearly a sudden change that created a huge shock for businesses" - Dr. Tu said.
Dr. Tu added: "If everyone makes an honest declaration, the problem of impact will be that the prices of goods and services may increase. For example, a bowl of pho is currently 50,000 VND, if it carries additional tax, it will cost 55,000 VND. Therefore, the policy needs to take into account the spillover impacts, from business people to consumers".
According to experts, the Ministry of Finance must calculate from the beginning of the problem how to encourage business households to voluntarily implement.
