|
Hunting for ‘beautiful’ tax ID numbers
Since the tax agencies began granting personal taxpayer identification numbers (TIN), they have been receiving a lot of requests for ‘beautiful’ tax numbers which are easy to remember and in accordance with the oriental science of numerology. Some experts have suggested that it is necessary to programme TIN granting and consider TINs as a national resource.
Under the Personal Income Tax law, all the individuals subject to tax and their dependents will have their own TINs which will be the ‘names’ of the individuals in the tax agencies’ database during their whole lives.
Quynh, a staff of a media company in Hanoi with a monthly income of over VND10 million is liable to pay personal income tax In principle, the TIN will be granted by tax agencies. However, Quynh wishes to choose a TIN which is easy to remember. She said that the human memory is limited, while it has to contain a lot of things and numbers, including telephone numbers, identity card numbers, bank account numbers, and now the TIN.
“I understand that you can record the numbers into your mobile phone or computers, or handbooks. However, you may sometimes lose mobile phones or your computers may break down, and you will lose the data. Therefore, I prefer using the repeated numbers – e.g., 5555 -- which prove to be easy to remember,” Quynh said.
“I have asked a friend of mine, who is working in tax agency, to explain the TIN granting process. I will register to buy a ‘beautiful’ TIN,” she added.
Son, director of a small enterprise in Hanoi, said that if beautiful TINs are available on sale or auction, he will register to buy one. “Like mobile phone numbers, beautiful TINs will bring luck to your business,” he said.
Meanwhile, other people said that they don’t need beautiful TINs. Thu Huong, a civil servant in Hanoi, said that the TIN simply aims to remind people about the duties of citizenship. It does not serve individuals’ business like mobile phone number.
“It does not make sense if I have beautiful TIN or not. However, I will not refuse receiving a TIN which is easy to remember or has beautiful numbers like 686868 which promise to bring good fortune,” Huong added.
Officials of the General Department of Taxation (GDT) told the press that they have received a lot of requests from individuals for beautiful TINs. They said that while considering tax calculation methods, GDT heard a lot of opinions who suggested auctioning ‘beautiful’ TIN to raise funds for the poor.
Some other people suggested that in case many people try to obtain beautiful TINs, the lucky numbers could be awarded through a lottery system.
However, GDT said that it still needs to consider the suggestions thoroughly before making final decisions.
In the latest news, to encourage people to make tax declarations to get TINs, the Yen Bai Tax Agency has proposed to organize lucky draws and give prizes at the end of each December.
VietNamNet, VnMedia
|
