As of October 31, the tax debt of Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden Company Limited (Thao Cam Vien) was more than 846 billion VND, the overdue amount for forced tax collection was more than 787 billion VND.
The unit was leased land by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee with an area of 158,117 m2 for public use under an annual payment regime, for a period of 50 years, more than 163 billion VND per year, and currently has no money to pay.
In addition to business, the Zoo must manage a 160-year-old zoo, taking care of nearly 2,000 animals and more than 2,000 plants, many of which are rare and endangered.
Animals in the zoo must be properly cared for, fed, and treated. During times of epidemics, protecting these animals becomes more difficult and costly.
The Botanical Garden of the Zoo contributes to the "lungs" of the city, a beautiful green space with many ancient trees. Hardly any other place in Ho Chi Minh City and the surrounding area has a green space with so many rare plants concentrated like this.
Therefore, the Zoo is not only a place for sightseeing, but also a center for students to do scientific research, a place to rescue wild animals before returning them to nature.
Bringing students and children to the Zoo is a way to provide knowledge about biology beyond books and educate them about protecting the natural environment.
With such non-business functions, talking about profit is not just about money, but about creating other benefits for the community.
However, the provisions of the law must be followed, land allocation requires tax payment, and the tax authority's "debt collection" is justified. But the question is, if the Zoo does not have money to pay taxes, how will the management agencies handle the situation and enforce it?
For normal businesses, it is possible to revoke their business licenses. But if the Zoo stops operating, where will the money come from to raise animals and care for the city’s number one rare plant garden?
If the zoo sells tickets and collects only enough money to pay for workers' salaries, animal care, and other expenses, and does not have enough money to pay land tax, then it can be held personally responsible for poor business performance. But if it were to force tax collection, it would clearly be unreasonable and difficult to implement.
In the case of the Zoo, it is necessary to recalculate the taxable area, not on the whole but only based on the service business area. If the calculation is not appropriate, even if the tax debt is up to thousands of billions, it will be difficult to resolve.
