Initially, the ministry will focus on effectively implementing the policy to reduce the value added tax (VAT) by 2% as applied in 2023 on a number of goods and service groups subject for 10% VAT that was approved by the 15th National Assembly at its 6th session, the minister told the Vietnam News Agency.

He said that the ministry will submit to the Government a proposal to issue a decree detailing the 2% VAT reduction policy, thus promptly bring the policy into life. The cost for this policy is estimated at 25 trillion VND (1.02 billion USD).

At the same time, the ministry will propose the NA Standing Committee to continue to apply the policy to reduce the environmental protection tax rates on gasoline, oil, and lubricants as applied in 2023, said the minister, adding that this policy may cause a drop of about 42.5 trillion VND in the State budget.

The MoF also plans to issue a circular on fees and charges to encourage the use of online public services with a reduction from 10% to 50%, expecting to provide support to the people and businesses with about 100 billion VND per year, he said.

Besides, the MoF will continue to speed up all-round reform and modernisation, while coordinating with relevant agencies to review export and import tax rates to support domestic production and business activities, and creating a favourable and equal business and investment environment, ensuring the sustainability of the economy, said Phoc.

The minister underlined that in 2024, the financial sector’s tasks are heavy, including State budget collection of 1.7 quadrillion VND, State budget expenditure of 2.1 quadrillion VND and State budget deficit of 399.4 trillion VND, equivalent to about 3.6% of the country’s GDP.

This requires the sector to ensure the proper deployment of fiscal policies to promote economic growth, ensure macro-economic stability, rein in inflation and protecting the national financial safety at the same time.

Therefore, the level of policy relaxation needs to be carefully calculated and considered to achieve the above goals, in which, macroeconomic stability and inflation control are still considered top priorities, said Phoc.

The ministry will strive to give accurate forecasts on the world and domestic situation on fiscal policy. It will also look at legal policies regarding State budget collection and spending, ensuring a stable financial sector, and strictly handle violations, he said.

The minister stressed that in the coming time, the ministry will concentrate on implementing finance-budget tasks during the upcoming Lunar New Year, making sure that production and business activities are implemented smoothly before, during and after the holidays./.VNA