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PIT conclusion still a mystery
The General Department of Taxation (GDT) has said that if the National Assembly decides in May that the personal income tax is not exempted, the Ministry of Finance will set up a suitable tax collection method which will have minimum impact on people’s lives.
Nguyen Thi Cuc, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Tax Association, said that the decision on PIT collection delay only aims to implement demand stimulus packages and encourage consumers. Therefore, this should be seen as a tax collection delay, not exemption for tax payers.
In an effort to help businesses and people overcome difficulties and help stimulate demand, the government has decided that the personal income tax (PIT) collection will be delayed until May 31, 2009.
Tax payers now still can make declarations about tax payments and fulfill procedures for registering tax codes. The National Assembly will decide at the session in May 2009 whether to exempt PIT for the period of January-May 2009 or begin collecting the PIT from that period.
Quynh Anh, a staff of a foreign-invested enterprise in Vietnam, said that previously, under the Ordinance on High Income Taxation, she had to pay VND5mil a month in tax, and the tax sum was always withheld by the payer. However, for the last several months, the tax sum has not been withheld.
However, Quynh Anh does not dare spend that sum of money, as she thinks that she will have to pay VND25mil in tax, at once, at the end of May. Therefore, Anh has decided to put the money in her bank account.
Meanwhile, other people think that it is meaningless if the tax payment is only delayed and not exempted. They said that if they still have to pay tax, they would prefer paying the tax right now, because it would be a burden to pay a big sum of money later.
“Imagine that previously, you had to pay VND50,000 only every month, and now you have to pay VND2.5mil for five months, at once,” said Thu, a staff of a communications company in Hanoi.
Nguyen Huu Truong, Head of the Personal Income Taxation Division under GDT, said that he knows a lot of people are worried about the big sums of money they might have to pay in five months.
Truong said that people still have to wait for the final decision from the National Assembly about whether the tax will be waived or not. If the National Assembly decides in May that the personal income tax is not exempted, the Ministry of Finance will set up a suitable tax collection method which will only minimally impact people’s lives.
Nguyen Thi Cuc, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Tax Association, said that the decision on PIT collection delay only aims to implement demand stimulus packages and encourage consumers. Therefore, this should be seen as a tax collection delay, not exemption for tax payers. Therefore, people should be prepared to fulfill their tax duties if the National Assembly decides to collect the tax.
VietNamNet, VNE
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