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Taxi firms calling for justice
Taxi firms in Hanoi have sent a dispatch to the Ministry of Finance, asking for the return of the ownership registration tax on taxis to the previous level of 2% from the currently-applied 10%.
Taxis enjoyed the ownership registration tax rate of 2% until August 25, 2008, when the Ownership Registration Law went into effect, stipulating the single rate of 10% for all vehicles in circulation nationwide.
In the document they sent to the Ministry of Finance, taxi firms said that previously, they had to pay a VND6mil ownership registration tax on a car worth VND300mil, while with the new tax rate, they have to pay VND30mil.
There are some 10,000 taxi cars now in circulation in Hanoi. As the average replacement ratio is 30%, with the new ownership registration tax, every taxi firm has to pay an additional tens of billions of VND per year.
The taxi firms also pointed out in the document that the taxi is now considered the second-most advantageous means of transportation, after the bus.
The state does not invest in taxis, does not subsidise transport fees, while Hanoi every year still sees 30mil passengers served, while the figure is 60mil in HCM City. This has been helping ease traffic jams.
Moreover the firms add that they have been paying all kinds of taxes to the state, including import tax, value added tax (VAT) and luxury tax, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars for the state budget every year. Therefore, they believe that it is unreasonable for taxi firms not to enjoy any incentives.
“This proves to be a big injustice for taxi firms,” the document declares.
It also states that taxi firms have been experiencing a lot difficulties lately, with bank interest rates staying very high, expenses for spare parts increasing by 30% over 2007, insurance premiums also increasing by four-fold. The petrol price has been decreasing, but only in dribs and drabs.
The Ministry of Finance has confirmed it received the proposal from the Hanoi taxi firms and says it will consider it.
VNE
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