Ministry proposes tax on gold bar transactions

The proposal, included in draft amendments to the Law on Personal Income Tax, excludes raw gold, gold jewelry and fine-art gold.

Nguyen Quang Huy from the Faculty of Finance and Banking at Nguyen Trai University said the proposal reflects the government's effort to strengthen oversight of a market long associated with speculative risks and volatility.

In practice, bullion is mainly used for hoarding or short-term speculation. Therefore, taxing these transactions is necessary to enhance transparency, curb speculative trading and contribute to the state budget.

However, he noted that for most Vietnamese people, buying small amounts of gold to store is a long-standing cultural habit linked to financial security and prudence. Hence, the policy should include tax exemptions or reductions for small-scale, long-term holders. This would protect citizens’ legitimate interests and demonstrate the human-centered nature of tax administration, ensuring that the state primarily regulates large-scale speculation rather than traditional saving behavior.

Huy said the proposed rate is low enough to avoid shocking the market or the public, yet meaningful in two key respects. First, it introduces a transparent mechanism where all gold bullion transactions must go through formal systems, enabling authorities to collect accurate data. Second, it provides the government with an initial basis to observe market behavior and make gradual adjustments later.

Meanwhile, Dr Nguyen Ngoc Tu, a lecturer at the University of Business and Technology, argued that a 0.1% tax on gold bullion transfers may be too low. This rate equals that applied to securities transactions and is lower than that imposed on real estate transfers, making it insufficient to curb speculative behavior.

He pointed out that ordinary business households selling retail goods are subject to a 0.5% tax rate. Since gold is not an investment the State encourages, applying a tax rate even lower than that levied on food, medicine or dairy trading seems inconsistent.

Economists have long advocated for the development of secure financial products such as gold certificates, gold-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and flexible government bonds, giving citizens more transparent and stable investment channels.

They have recommended an exemption threshold for small purchases of up to one tael (around 37.5 grams) per year to protect traditional saving habits, especially in rural areas. Long-term holdings could be rewarded through tax reductions or exemptions, encouraging stability over speculation.