Modernization of the tax system: Integration and innovation

According to the Global Doing Business 2018 Report published by the World Bank, Vietnam's paying taxes are currently ranked at 86/190. To contribute to the index of 81 tax increases during only a year, please tell us how will the tax effort be accomplished?

The year 2017 can be said that the tax year marks a milestone in the reform of legal policies and simplification of administrative procedures. The evidence of these efforts has been recognized by the World Bank and contributed a small part in upgrading Vietnam's ranking on the world's business environment. This is not a subjective assessment of our tax department, but rather an objective assessment by a reputable organization around the world, acknowledging the administrative reform efforts of the tax authorities in Vietnam.

According to the World Bank, Vietnam is now ranked fourth (behind Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia) among ASEAN 4 and Asean 6 countries. The ranking is in the roadmap of Vietnam's tax authorities in reforming and modernizing the tax system for the period 2011-2020. Currently, Vietnam's tax payment time is less than 117 hours per year. Taxes have decreased 17 times to 14 times. Total tax rate on profit is currently 38.1% (of which tax is 13.2%, social insurance 24.8%), down 1.3% compared to 2017. The reform in the process of checking and reimbursement of Value Added Tax also helped the results of the assessment of the post-declaration index to have the significant improvements, contributing largely to the increase in the overall tax index.

In the past year, the tax branch has always asked for reform of administrative procedures in the course of institution building, thus strictly controlling the issuance of new administrative procedures, strict implementation of the review and standardization as prescribed by law.

2017 is an important year in the modernization of the tax sector, effective implementation of Resolution 36a of the Government to promote e-government development, improve the quality and efficiency of the operation of the State agencies, serving the people and businesses better. Could you tell us the results of this work?

It must be stated that the most important objective set out in the development of the Tax Administration Reform and Modernization Program is to complete the reform for a uniform, fair and effective tax system, consistent with the socialist-oriented market economy and international practices. Therefore, the Vietnam’s taxation reform in the past has always rounded the above objectives, while ensuring the effectiveness of management of the sector, as well as facilitating taxpayers favorable conditions in the process of fulfilling their tax obligations by maximizing the tax services.

The online tax declaration system has been implemented centrally at the General Department of Taxation. At present, this system has supported taxpayers to file most declarations, additional declarations, finalization statements, financial reports, invoices, etc., of the tax. In addition, electronic tax payment service has impressive results with more than 616 thousand enterprises registered to pay electronic tax, nearly 100% of operating enterprises across the country.

Services such as electronic filing, electronic tax return, value added tax declaration, personal income tax for renting houses of individuals in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City has been implemented and completed, obtained remarkable results and received the consent of the taxpayers. The IT system of the tax branch is also ready to implement electronic tax declaration and payment for car and motorbike registration fees in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Based on this, the General Department of Taxation is improving the legal bases to implement electronic tax on a large scale.

The General Department of Taxation continues to provide and support the use of 10 online public services in Levels 3 and 4, including a series of websites: Taxpayers' inquiries, tax policy inquiries, online personal income tax returns, invoice lookup. These applications will be upgraded to maximize efficiency during implementation. At present, the General Department of Taxation is stepping up application development to meet the requirements of implementing new policies and procedures and requesting amendments to simplify administrative procedures and reduce the number of tax compliance hours.

It can be seen in 2017, deeply aware of the significance and importance of promoting e-government development, the General Department of Taxation has made efforts to deploy electronic services nationwide. These services have been contributing to improving the business environment, enhancing the national competitiveness, improving the quality and efficiency of state agencies, serving the people and businesses more and better. At the same time, these reforms have marked the renovation and deep integration of Vietnam's Tax sector.

For further integrating, in the coming time, what priorities will the taxation sector bring to the reform and modernization process?

In 2018, tax policy will be further amended to be simple, transparent, clear and easy to meet the requirements of simplifying administrative procedures and international economic integration to promote the development of products. To increase the competitiveness of domestic goods and services, encourage export and technological renewal.

Promoting the results achieved in the past year on reforming and modernizing the tax system, in 2018, the tax branch will focus on deploying electronic tax declaration services; electronic tax refund; To coordinate with the concerned agencies in implementing the service of paying land tax, registration fee and personal households online to boost the development of e-government. At the same time, to upgrade the tax administration database of tax offices to build the specialized database on taxes; Enhance taxpayer support services using the tax filing system, electronic tax filing and tax administration services. On that basis, it will improve the quality and efficiency of tax authorities to serve the people and enterprises. The tax branch will continue to implement solutions on the application of information technology to make electronic invoices valid for businesses across the country.

Especially, in the coming time, the tax branch will perform efficiently, synchronizing the functions of inspecting, checking, collecting debts etc. Especially, the management of taxes on e-commerce, blocking and repatriation leasing tax evasion with this form of new business will be drastically deployed by tax authorities.

In 2018, the General Department of Taxation will move to a new headquarters with a synchronous and modern infrastructure. This will be an important stepping stone for tax administrators to focus more on centralized management and application upgrades.

On the occasion of the new year, I hope that the modernization of the tax sector in particular, the Finance sector in general, will be give more effective support for the administrative reform of the country, contributing strongly to the development of the country. This "shedding" will help the Tax sector "put on" a new face with the changed perceptions of both tax officials, taxpayers and people on tax work.

Thank you Sir!