A tax official guides a business owner through online tax procedures. In the latest proposal by the Ministry of Finance, businesses may have several months more before they must pay taxes and land use fees. — Photo laodong.vn

HÀ NỘI — Businesses may have several additional months before they have to pay income tax and land-use fees, per a proposal from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to the Government. 

The ministry proposed a five-month extension for business VAT tax, a three-month extension for income tax (for certain businesses only) and land-use fees, which may result in a more than US$5 billion reduction in the State's budget collection during the first half of 2021.

The proposal also included household and private businesses in sectors eligible for support as well as their income tax.

The MoF said the State budget would still even out as taxpayers were expected to make full payments by the end of the fiscal year while citing numerous difficulties faced by the business community in dealing with the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as grounds for the proposal.

The ministry stressed the importance of allowing businesses to hold on to their cash as it's essential to the country's economic recovery. This is the third proposal made by the ministry in support of the business sector. 

Last year, tax offices issued extensions for nearly 185,000 businesses with a total tax payable of $3.8 billion with the main benefits being 14 domestic car manufactures to the tune of $870 million.

Economist Đinh Trọng Thịnh said the Government must do more to support the business community, saying it is an important factor in maintaining social and economic security. Thịnh, however, added inspection and oversight of support policies must be thorough to prevent waste and corruption. 

Head of the General Department of Taxation Cao Anh Tuấn said reviews had been conducted by his department to gauge the damage caused by the pandemic to the business sector and local tax offices have been instructed to submit reports on if and how the pandemic has affected businesses under their jurisdiction.

The department has also established online channels to answer tax-related questions, carried out administrative reforms and simplified the inspection process to support businesses. — VNS