Many localities have tax officials ask for up to 30% leave
From March 1, 2025, the General Department of Taxation (Ministry of Finance) officially converted the organizational model into the Tax Department, operating according to a three-level model including: central agency with 12 departments and offices; 20 regional tax branches; and 350 district-level tax teams. This model aims to streamline the apparatus, increase management efficiency, in line with the orientation of reorganizing provincial-level administrative units and the two-level local government model.
However, the merger process has caused many problems in practical implementation. The report of the Ministry of Finance said that immediately after the restructuring of the apparatus, about 4,500 civil servants in the tax sector submitted applications for retirement under the staff streamlining program as prescribed in Decree No. 178/2024/ND-CP (amended and supplemented by Decree 67/2025/ND-CP). This figure is equivalent to more than 10% of the total number of civil servants in the entire tax sector, of which the tax department alone has been assigned more than 37,000 positions.
Notably, the highest rate of civil servants quitting their jobs is concentrated in mountainous provinces such as Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Yen Bai, Lao Cai, Son La, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, at over 30%.
According to the explanation, in mountainous areas, border areas, remote areas such as: Tax branches of Region VI (managed Bac Giang, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Bac Kan), Tax branches of Region VII (Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, Ha Giang), Tax branches of Region IX (Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau) ... the distance from the place of residence to the branch headquarters is up to more than 100km, making traffic difficult. Travel time ranges from 24 hours per day, mainly by personal vehicle.
Reorganize in the direction of "close to the people, close to the grassroots"
From the practical situation, the Ministry of Finance has submitted to the Government a draft Decree amending and supplementing Decree No. 29/2025/ND-CP, in the direction of reorganizing the tax system into 34 tax departments of provinces and centrally run cities (replacing the current 20 regional departments), and at the same time converting 350 district-level tax teams into grassroots tax units under provincial and municipal tax departments.
The Ministry of Finance assesses the reorganization of the model to suit the scale of the locality, the conditions for organizing the local government apparatus and the actual management capacity of the sector. Reorganizing in the direction of "close to the people, close to the grassroots" is expected to help reduce travel pressure, stabilize the team, especially in areas with difficult natural conditions and infrastructure.
The draft Decree is expected to take effect from July 1, 2025.
