Lawmakers debate land, environmental tax policy
HA NOI — Draft tax laws on housing and land and the environment were key issues under debate at the opening of the 29th session of the National Assembly Standing Committee yesterday.
Most members disagreed with taxing housing because homes were real property closely connected to long-term efforts by the owners. Taxes on housing would lead to a "tax on tax" situation, they said.
"Before building a house, people already had to pay other taxes. Under the current context, which sees many threats in an unstable economy and disagreement between people, adding another tax on housing is unnecessary," said Chairman of the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee Phung Quoc Hien.
The finance committee agreed that it would not be necessary to include houses in the tax scheme in the near future. However, the tax on land use should be kept, members said.
According to the draft Law on Housing and Land Taxes, organisations, families and individuals with land- use rights, or those using the land, would be subject to relevant taxes. Any entity that hires State land for an investment project will be required to pay the associated land taxes.
The finance committee said that the land tax included in the draft would not significantly impact the life of taxpayers, but would encourage effective land use, preservation of the land fund, and limit land speculation.
Finance Minister Vu Van Ninh said that it was necessary to impose a tax on existing land areas at a higher rate if the developed area was larger than indicated on the original registration certificate.
Chairman of the People's Aspiration Committee Tran The Vuong said that the Land Law strictly prohibited land encroachment activities. Thus, adding a tax to land enroachment would in effect regulate it.
"Land encroachment should be withdrawn from the draft and fines imposed following separate legal regulation," said Vuong.
In the discussion about the draft Law on Environment Tax, members agreed that taxes should be imposed on products that cause pollution. The law would improve awareness of environmental protection among the community, investors, producers and consumers.
There was agreement about the need for promulgation of the environment tax law, but many expressed confusion about who would pay the environment tax, and questioned the difference between environment taxes and fees.
Law Committee Chairman Nguyen Van Thuan said that taxpayers should have to pay either only one-time environment tax or environment fee. For example, a producer should only have to pay an environment tax once.
Thuan posed the question: "Who will have to pay the environment tax, producers or consumers? The tax should be imposed on the producer because the production process creates much more pollution than consumption."
Many deputies agreed that income from the environment tax should be collected at central and local levels, and that priority should be given to local areas which were significantly affected by production processes.
Member Dao Trong Thi said that while producers had to pay environment taxes, consumers should pay fees to purchase environmentally harmful products.
A report by the NA's Finance and Budget Committee revealed that there was a difference between environment taxes and fees. Taxes would be imposed on products that negatively impacted the environment when they were used, while fees are imposed at the source of the pollution.
According to the draft, products such as gas and diesel of all kinds, coal, HCFC (hydrochloro-fluorocarbons) liquid, soft plastic bags and some pesticides would be taxed. — VNS