Decree 232/2025/ND-CP has officially abolished the State's monopoly mechanism for the production of gold bars, switching to licensing to qualified banks and enterprises, thereby opening the way for increased supply, price exchange and strengthening supervision.
The Government requires clearly defining income from taxable gold trading activities that are shaping a new "disciplinary" layer for the market: more transparency in cash flow, the orientation of reducing speculation and linking tax policies with macroeconomic stability.
In that context, experts say that the tax policy for gold transactions should adhere to the investment nature: tax on the difference between buying and selling (profit) to avoid "tax on tax", while increasing transparency and fairness.
To determine input prices, it is necessary to have a mechanism for the Ministry of Finance to announce the average price at a time or time frame. From there, the tax calculation will be clearer and contribute to limiting speculation, supporting macroeconomic stability.
Sharing with Lao Dong reporter, Dr. Nguyen Tri Hieu - a banking and finance expert said that we should tax profits instead of transaction value.
Dr. Nguyen Tri Hieu commented that taxing on transaction value is not appropriate, because the amount of money people use to buy gold is actually probably after-tax income from salary or business. If we tax on transaction value, it will easily lead to a situation of "tax on tax".
I support taxing the difference between buying and selling prices, which is the profit arising from gold transactions. The tax rate of about 20% on profits will be more accurate and reasonable" - Mr. Hieu suggested.
However, he also noted that taxing profits will not be easy to implement, due to the difficulty in determining input prices, especially in cases of buying gold decades ago.
Therefore, he believes that the Ministry of Finance needs to have a plan to use the average price at a certain time, and at the same time require gold sellers to declare the buying time to determine the input price. The average price announced by the Ministry of Finance will be the basis for calculating the difference between the buying price and the selling price.
Mr. Hieu commented that many methods can be applied, such as calculating average prices for a period of 3 years, 5 years or 10 years. Meanwhile, the output price is easier to determine because gold sales must go through gold shops and licensed gold trading enterprises. When there are enough input prices and output prices, the calculation of profits will be clear.
In Vietnam today, most income-generating activities, from investment by individuals and organizations to income from labor, are subject to income tax. For example, for real estate, personal income tax is 2% on transfer pricing; for securities, all transfer transactions are deducted 0.1% from transfer value.
If we apply a profit tax on gold, this measure will not only be reasonable but also help limit speculation in the gold market, Mr. Hieu added.
