No tax rate increase, but still ensure budget collection
Personal income tax policy is becoming a topic of interest to many people, especially when financial pressure is increasing for workers. Prices and living expenses have increased, while the family deduction has not yet kept up with reality.
In that situation, the question is how to ensure both budget revenue and not increase pressure on the people? One of the solutions proposed by experts is to expand the tax payment range instead of increasing tax rates.
Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy, CEO of the Faculty of Finance - Banking, Nguyen Trai University, commented: "If we want to increase revenue from personal income tax, we have two ways: One is to increase tax rates, the other is to expand the number of taxpayers. I lean towards the second option, that is, instead of taxing those who have paid more taxes, we need to have a reasonable mechanism to collect taxes from those who have not paid or have not fully declared".
According to Mr. Huy, there are three main solutions to do this. First of all, it is necessary to adjust tax rates gradually, reducing the gap between tax rates so that people are not suddenly put under financial pressure when their income increases slightly.
Second, it is necessary to increase the family deduction level to suit the actual cost of living. Mr. Huy said that people's living expenses have increased significantly in recent years, while the family deduction has not kept up. Raising the family deduction to 15-18 million VND/dependent person will help reduce financial pressure on employees, while encouraging them to declare their income honestly.
Third, it is necessary to promote digitalization and simplify the tax declaration process so that people can declare and pay taxes themselves conveniently. "Many people are afraid to pay taxes because the procedures are still cumbersome. If there is a transparent and easy-to-use declaration system, more people will be more proactive in declaring and fulfilling tax obligations" - Mr. Huy emphasized.
Another problem is tax collection from small business households and e-commerce. This is an inevitable trend of the modern economy, but there are still many shortcomings in tax management. We need to have support and guidance policies so that individuals and business households clearly understand their tax obligations, thereby voluntarily declaring and paying taxes instead of tax evasion or evasion of declaration.
If these measures are well implemented, the number of taxpayers will increase significantly, compensating for the reduction in budget revenue from increasing the family deduction level or reducing the tax rate. More importantly, people will feel that paying taxes is a citizen's responsibility, thereby voluntarily fulfilling tax obligations in a transparent and sustainable manner," Mr. Huy analyzed.
Expanding tax payment scope and benefits for both sides
From the perspective of a taxpayer, Mr. Tran Van Minh (32 years old, sales employee in Hanoi) shared: "Every time I settle taxes, I worry because I am afraid of making mistakes. If the declaration process is simpler and there are clear instructions, I think many people will be more proactive in declaring instead of avoiding tax obligations".
Meanwhile, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang (40 years old, owner of an online store) is interested in the issue of tax collection for individual business households: "Online sales are now very popular, but many people are still not sure how to declare taxes. I support tax payment, but there needs to be a transparent policy, specific support and guidance for small businesses like us to comply with regulations without being under too much pressure".
Expanding the scope of tax payment not only helps ensure revenue for the budget but also contributes to creating fairness in tax policy. When more people participate in the tax system, the burden will no longer only be on a small group of taxpayers with high incomes, but will be distributed more evenly throughout society.
A fair and reasonable tax policy not only helps increase budget revenue sustainably but also creates conditions for people to voluntarily comply with tax obligations. As Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy commented: "Instead of focusing on increasing tax rates, we should expand tax payment areas, increase digitalization, simplify administrative procedures and ensure a fairer tax policy. At that time, the number of tax declarers and paymenters will increase significantly, ensuring budget revenue without creating additional financial pressure on workers".
