Important reform steps in managing the gold market
Speaking with Lao Dong reporter, Professor Tran Tho Dat - Chairman of the Science and Training Council, National Economics University, said that the licensing mechanism instead of monopoly is considered an important reform step in Decree No. 232/2025/ND-CP amending and supplementing Decree No. 24/2012/ND-CP on gold trading management; in order to remove shortcomings that have existed in gold market management for more than a decade.
"First of all, maintaining the monopoly on the production of SJC gold bars for a long time has led to an unreasonable price difference between domestic gold and world gold, sometimes up to tens of millions of VND per quantity, causing disadvantages for consumers and encouraging smuggling, speculation and price manipulation. The mechanism of licensing many businesses eligible to participate in the production and trading of gold bars will create healthy competition, thereby bringing domestic prices closer to world prices, ensuring the legitimate rights of the people.
Second, monopoly in import and production has limited gold supply, making the market less flexible and unconnected with the world. When applying the licensing mechanism, the State still retains the right to closely monitor and manage, but businesses are allowed to import raw gold and produce gold bars according to demand, thereby balancing supply and demand, while reducing the "frozen" situation of hundreds of tons of gold in the population.
Finally, the new model will help overcome the limitations of transparency. Instead of letting a brand dominate the market, many participating businesses will force the listing, transaction and reporting process to be more transparent, in line with international practices. Thanks to that, gold is gradually being brought back to its true nature as a commodity, instead of a "underground currency" in the economy, contributing to reducing the risk of "gold localization" and stabilizing the macro economy", said Professor Tran Tho Dat.
Putting income from gold transactions under tax
Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy, CEO of the Faculty of Finance - Banking, Nguyen Trai University, commented that the policy of putting income from gold transactions under personal income tax clearly demonstrates three points: Ensuring the principle of fairness when all income arising from investment and business activities is within the framework of tax obligations; enhancing transparency for the market, which is both a traditional accumulation channel and a short-term speculative channel and a mechanism to stabilize the macro economy when the tax policy is designed reasonably, helping to limit excessive volatility, returning gold to its role as a reserve asset instead of a short-term profit tool.
Regarding the expected impact, Mr. Huy said that in the short term, market sentiment may be more cautious, surfing activities will decrease, thereby limiting speculation. In the medium and long term, if the mechanism of invoices, deductions at source and electronic data management is implemented synchronously, the market will be more transparent, liquidity will be more stable and informal transactions will gradually be limited.
For the people, the policy needs to design a reasonable exemption threshold so that individuals who buy and sell retail or store traditionally do not suffer, thereby maintaining social consensus. From the perspective of tax management, applying taxes to gold transactions will create momentum to upgrade the management system, promoting data connectivity between agencies. The biggest challenge is controlling cash transactions and determining capital prices. The feasible solution, according to Mr. Huy, is to apply a source deduction mechanism through licensed gold trading units, combined with an electronic invoice system to ensure feasibility and transparency.
Sharing the same view, Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Tu, former Editor-in-Chief of Tax Magazine, lecturer at Hanoi University of Business and Technology - commented: All organizations and individuals with income from business must pay corporate income tax or personal income tax, not excluding any type. Securities must pay taxes, land business must pay taxes, online business or e-commerce must also pay taxes.
In this socio-economic life, there is no type of business outside of tax obligations. The problem is that previous decrees and guiding circulars have not specifically mentioned gold, and have not specifically regulated how much individual gold transactions must pay. According to Mr. Tu, the most reasonable way to collect is to deduct at the source. People selling gold can hardly declare voluntarily, so gold businesses must be responsible for deducting immediately when buying gold from customers.
Technically, management is completely feasible because gold businesses all have licenses, use electronic invoices, pre-cious computers connected directly to tax authorities. The important issue is to clearly stipulate the taxable threshold. Do not collect with small-scale transactions, causing inconvenience to people and costly management costs. A reasonable threshold, according to Mr. Tu, is to apply only one or more yellow tree; in cases of selling half a tree, a few trees, they should be exempted, without having to collect.
