This is not only a change in tax management techniques, but a change in national thinking: people, business households, and enterprises must proactively manage their own taxes, no longer completely dependent on tax contracts for households and individuals doing business as has been done in many years.
From January 1, 2026, the business household and individual sector will completely shift from contracts to declaration, affirming the spirit of proactiveness, transparency and responsibility of each citizen in fulfilling their tax obligations.
Accordingly, business households and individuals need to be ready to enter the period of "tax self-management", be more proactive and transparent.
Proactively learning, mastering the law and learning about support tools (such as eTax Mobile, declaration software, electronic invoices from cash registers, ...) is not only a right, but also a responsibility for households and individuals doing business to properly comply with tax laws.
At the same time, the Tax sector must continue to vigorously implement the work of propagating, disseminating and guiding tax laws; explaining and providing information related to determining tax obligations for taxpayers.
This responsibility has been stipulated in Article 18 of the 2019 Law on Tax Administration, which stipulates the duties of tax management agencies. That is, tax authorities at all levels must be responsible for implementing so that business households and individuals clearly understand their rights and obligations in implementing tax laws. Accordingly, some basic contents need to be noted by taxpayers:
Firstly, the Law on Tax Administration is a law of the entire people: Collecting taxes for the state budget to serve social security, education, health, infrastructure and national security... this is the law of the country and the people - not an internal and professional law of an industry. Therefore, a requirement has been and is being raised, which is that the Law on Tax Administration (amended) must be drafted and regulated so that ordinary people can understand.
Second, proactively manage taxes electronically or eTax Mobile: Today, technology has changed the way tax compliance is achieved. With eTax Mobile and the electronic tax system, each individual, business owner and director can directly monitor, control, submit, look up and compare their tax obligations.
At the same time, taxpayers cannot "not know" or "not care" about the tax management of individuals and legal entities for which they have rights and responsibilities. At the same time, tax autonomy is the protection of assets and their legal safety.
Third, tax authorities are responsible for providing clear, transparent, responsible and trustworthy guidance to the people: Tax authorities not only have the task of guiding, supporting and explaining policies for taxpayers but are also given the authority to manage, organize - inspect - analyze risks - verify - handle violations within the permitted scope of law. This authority is necessary to protect tax fairness, prevent loss of revenue and ensure equal compliance for all entities.
Fourth, international experience warns that sanctions: countries OECD, EU, Japan, Singapore, ... are all based on the principle of voluntary compliance based on clear understanding. Therefore, tax laws must be written in the mindset of the people as the center, but accompanied by strong sanctions if violated, specifically: (i) High fines; (ii) Long-term late payment fees; (iii) Apply multi-year summons; (iv) Cases of fraud can lead to criminal proceedings for tax evasion.
