Vietnam mulls increasing Covid-19 tax deferral package for businesses

By Hoang Thang April 4, 2020 | 12:43 am PT

In HCMC's Bui Vien street, a popular area for backpackers, massage and karaoke parlors, and beer clubs close, March 14, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran.

The Finance Ministry has proposed deferring VND180 trillion ($7.6 billion) worth of taxes and land rents for entities affected by the Covid-19 epidemic.

The value of the new deferral package is more than double the previous one of VND80.2 trillion ($3.46 billion).

The new proposal would apply to businesses, organizations, households and individual in 14 more sectors, in addition to the 20 plus sectors listed in the previous proposal, which was announced last week.

Among the newly added sectors are leather, wood and metal processing industries, real estate businesses, labor service businesses, libraries, museums, entertainment businesses and other cultural activities.

With the latest additions, the total value of the package goes up to about VND180 trillion, nearly VND100 trillion ($4.31 billion) more than in the previous proposal and six times higher than the VND30 trillion ($1.29 billion) estimated in the very first proposal.

The latest proposal was made after the Vietnam National Real Estate Association, Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association and many other business associations submitted requests to the Government Office, the Finance Ministry and the General Department of Taxation, seeking tax reductions and deferrals.