Comrade Le Quoc Minh, member of the Party Central Committee, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission, said: The Draft Law on Special Consumption Tax (amended) will be submitted by the Government to the National Assembly for consideration and approval at the 9th Session of the 15th National Assembly, scheduled to open in May 2025.
The important goal of amending the Law on Consumption Tax is especially to orient production, regulate social consumption behavior, limit the import, production and consumption of products that are harmful to health and the environment.
However, through proposals on adding taxable goods, increasing tax rates, roadmap for tax increases, etc., the contents of this amendment to the Law on Special Consumption Tax will have a great impact on the production chain of many industries, from manufacturing, trading enterprises to distribution and services.
In particular, the change in tax calculation at the present time will greatly impact the production and business activities of the beer and wine industry, which is facing many difficulties due to the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the impact of some related policies and mechanisms.
Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Dinh Thien - member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Group, former Director of the Vietnam Economic Institute, said: "Enterprises have been facing many more difficulties and disadvantages in the current context when the growth target is 8% and the next two digits.
To achieve this, many solutions are needed, especially promoting reform, strongly changing thinking, and changing the development structure. Therefore, the development of policies in the coming time must be carefully considered".
Dr. Vo Tri Thanh, Director of the Institute for Brand Strategy Research and Competition, analyzed: If the proposal to increase special consumption tax and expand the subjects of taxation in the coming time has many opinions and is not reasonable, it may cause more difficulties than the beverage industry.
According to him, this is the period when we need a growth acceleration, in a period when the beverage industry and sector are still facing many difficulties and its meaningful role is great in both contributing to the budget and creating jobs and income for workers.
He said that if the tax is high, there may be a shift from the produced part, ensuring authenticity, to unofficial items and making it difficult to control quality.
This will lead to risks, the purpose of which consumption tax, especially reducing consumption to protect health, may not be achieved. Emphasizing that before proposing taxes, it is necessary to conduct more in-depth research on factors such as balance, budget impact, consumption, labor, etc. It is necessary to consider the effectiveness and fairness of the tax recommendations of businesses and associations, which is very reasonable.
One of the goals of collecting special consumption tax is to ensure the health of the people. However, regarding the causes of overweight and obesity, National Assembly delegate Ta Van Ha said that it is necessary to study carefully so as not to affect children's rights. Sugar also has good effects, on the one hand, it is necessary to protect children's rights to access products containing sugar, on the other hand, it is also necessary to pay attention to the rate of child overweight and obesity that is showing signs of increasing.
"If sugar is the cause, will we tax sugar or tax sugar-containing products to ensure fairness? We support and seek solutions for harmony and equality, when and how much tax rate is reasonable. More explanations are needed from the Ministry of Finance. When considering special consumption tax, there needs to be a fair and fair view when building special consumption tax. It is necessary to put many goals in perspective, especially the growth goal" - Mr. Ha said.
