National Assembly deputies discuss the draft amended Law on Corporate Income Tax on Thursday. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI National Assembly (NA) deputies have proposed reducing the corporate income tax for the media industry from the current 20 per cent to 10 per cent or lower, given the critical role of journalism in the socio-political system.

They discussed the draft amended Law on Corporate Income Tax during its ongoing eighth session in Hà Nội on Thursday.

The current Tax Law does not have specific regulations for press agencies and the media are paying the same tax rates as businesses.

Deputy Thạch Phước Bình from Trà Vinh Province said that currently, media agencies operate as non-profit entities, serving political, communication and educational tasks instead of business goals, but still have to pay a corporate income tax rate of 20 per cent.

This puts major financial pressure on the media agencies, especially when advertising revenue is decreasing due to competition with digital platforms such as Google and Facebook, making it difficult for many press agencies to maintain operations, he said.

He proposed applying a tax rate of 10 per cent or lower on media agencies’ income from advertising and organising events.

Media agencies should be exempted from corporate income tax from sponsorships and supported in creating resources for the implementation of political and communication tasks.

Income from dissemination activities and political assigned tasks should be exempted from tax while the media’s business activities should enjoy low tax incentives, he said.

He also proposed special support policies for local press agencies, especially in remote areas, with challenging socio-economic conditions and low financial autonomy.

Deputy Đỗ Chí Nghĩa from Phú Yên Province emphasised the important role of the press, adding that the incomes of reporters have decreased significantly. Press agencies are facing pressure to compete with social media and other sources of information, requiring better quality.

To ensure stable operations of press agencies, he proposed the drafting committee consider reducing taxes to 10 per cent or even five per cent, for media.

The tax reduction aims to motivate media agencies to improve their task performance, he said.

Human trafficking

The same day, the NA passed the revised Law on Human Trafficking Prevention and Control, with 94.78 per cent of deputies supporting it.

The law consisting of eight chapters and 63 articles will take effect on July 1, 2025.

It stipulates the prevention, detection and handling of human trafficking and other violations of the law on prevention and combating of human trafficking.

It consists of regulations on receiving, verifying, identifying, supporting and protecting victims and individuals undergoing the victim identification process.

It also provides details on State management and responsibilities of agencies, organisations, families and individuals in the prevention and combat of human trafficking and in international cooperation. VNS