A view of the Quảng Ngãi Newspaper's cutting-edge newsroom. — VNA/VNS Photo.

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Finance is evaluating a proposal to apply a flat corporate income tax rate (CITR) of 10 per cent for journalism.

Currently, the CITR for news outlets is 20 per cent, with a preferential rate of 10 per cent for print newspapers.

The proposal, presented by the Ministry of Information and Communications, aims to extend this preferential rate to all forms of journalism, providing much-needed support to the sector, which has been struggling with declining advertising revenue.

Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyễn Đức Chi said the Ministry would carefully evaluate the proposal and decide on an appropriate CITR for news outlets.

On September 27, another proposal was introduced in the draft Revised Law on Advertising to support journalism.

Under the proposal, advertising space in print newspapers could be doubled to a maximum of 30 per cent of the total area, and the figure could be 40 per cent for print magazines.

The National Assembly's Committee for Culture and Education supported these changes but also emphasised the importance of reader-friendly advertisements.

Regarding online advertising, the Committee called for a careful assessment of a proposed regulation that extends the wait time to skip online advertisements from 1.5 seconds to 6.0 seconds.

There was also debate over the distinction between political and commercial publications.

Some Committee members argued that political publications should have limited advertising, while commercial publications should be allowed to contain more advertisements.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyễn Văn Hùng said discussions with the Ministry of Information and Communications have led to strong agreement on the proposed changes.

However, he also acknowledged the difficulty of distinguishing between political and commercial publications. — VNS