Government owed over $3.5 billion in taxes

By Anh Minh   May 19, 2019 | 09:00 am PT
Government owed over $3.5 billion in taxes
In 2018, the taxman had recovered VND7.45 trillion ($319.7 million) worth of taxes overdue by 90 days or more. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tung
The Ministry of Finance has reported tax arrears of VND82.97 trillion ($3.54 billion) at the end of March, an 8.7 percent increase over December last year.

According to a report submitted to the National Assembly last week, the General Department of Taxation’s outstanding arrears rose by VND6.64 trillion ($283.57 million) in the first 3 months of this year.

Of the outstanding tax balance, 35.2 percent is labeled recoverable by the Ministry of Finance; 19.4 percent are fines for administrative violations relating to tax payments and interest on late payments.

The remaining, equivalent to VND37.64 trillion ($1.61 billion), is considered irrecoverable. This category includes taxes owed by people who have died, lost their civil capacity (for instance, a person who has lost mental capacity due to mental illness), or companies that have dissolved.

In many cases, where a company has gone bankrupt and have had their business registration certificate revoked by local authorities, there is nothing for the tax authorities to recover.

Last year, the General Department of Taxation collected a total of VND1.15 quadrillion ($48.99 billion) for the state budget, an increase of 12.3 percent over 2017.

In 2018, the taxman had recovered VND7.45 trillion ($319.7 million) worth of taxes overdue by 90 days or more, equal to 19.2 percent of total tax in this category.

 
 
go to top