These two moves, in essence, are two sides of the same income regulation policy to ensure that workers enjoy the full value of their labor, while maintaining the role of tax as a tool for income redistribution, towards social justice.
Over the years, the income of workers, especially in areas receiving budget salaries and unskilled labor, has increased very slowly compared to the increase in prices of goods, living expenses and essential services.
The report of the General Statistics Office shows that the average monthly income of workers in 2024 will reach about 7.3 million VND, and the average income of workers in the first 9 months of 2025 will be 8.3 million VND/month. These figures show an increase but cannot be compensated by the increase in prices and actual living expenses.
Recently, the Government continued to propose a roadmap for salary increase for 2026 earlier than planned, with the goal of ensuring income from salary in line with basic living standards.
Salary increase is necessary, but if it is not accompanied by personal income tax adjustment, the additional income of employees is at risk of being reduced in meaning and value. Therefore, amending the Law on Personal Income Tax (PIT) is being considered a step to supplement and balance salary policies, ensuring that people truly benefit from salary increases.
The National Assembly Standing Committee has passed a Resolution on adjusting the family deduction of personal income tax. Accordingly, the new deduction for taxpayers is 15.5 million VND/month, for each dependent is 6.2 million VND/month, after deducting social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment; applied from the 2026 tax calculation period.
A good salary policy needs to be guaranteed by a reasonable tax system so that income increases without "pricing" by the burden of taxes and living expenses, creating a double axis to protect people's income, especially the salaried working class.
Many opinions are concerned that increasing and reducing family deductions and extending the taxable threshold may cause a short-term decrease in budget revenue. However, economic experts believe that the longer-term positive impact is more important: Workers have more money to spend, promote domestic consumption, thereby stimulating economic growth and creating more indirect revenue from value added tax, special consumption tax...
On the other hand, a fair tax policy will help increase voluntary compliance, creating a more transparent and equal business environment.
In the period when the economy is restructuring towards improving growth quality and labor productivity, the National Assembly and Government jointly promoting salary increases along with tax reform is a positive signal, demonstrating concern for people's lives and sustainable development goals.
When wages are paid the right value and tax policies accurately reflect contributive capacity, social justice is no longer a slogan, but becomes a reality in every meal, sleep and trust of millions of workers.
