The amended Law on Tax Administration draft has been sent by MOF to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) for review after incorporating feedback and revisions from the Standing Committee of the National Assembly. 

It is expected that the law will be voted on and passed by the National Assembly on December 10, 2025, and will take effect from July 1, 2026.

In the ninth version of the draft, the drafting agency added provisions on building the tax administration workforce compared with the 2019 Law on Tax Administration.

Regarding the support regime for tax officials, MOF proposed two options.

Option 1 (if the Politburo gives approval before the law is passed): tax administration officials will receive a monthly support equal to 100 percent of their current salary based on the current salary coefficient (excluding allowances).

This monthly support will be paid together with their salary and will not be used as a basis for calculating social insurance contributions or benefits. Income from this support will be exempt from personal income tax and other financial obligations to the State.

Option 2 (if the Politburo has not given approval before the law is passed): the Government will regulate additional income for tax administration officials and employees after approval by competent authorities.

According to the draft law, tax administration officials will also be subject to specific titles, standards, salaries, incentives, uniforms and badges appropriate to the tax administration workforce, in order to ensure effective tax management and to encourage responsibility, professionalism and work efficiency.

The State role ensures financial resources for the operation of the tax administration force and tax administration agencies, prioritizing annual State budget allocation for the development and operation of the information technology system, digital transformation in tax administration, electronic invoices, physical facilities, equipment, and professional tasks serving the work to enhance tax administration effectiveness.

The tax administration agency is responsible for training and developing the team of tax administration officials to perform tax administration functions as prescribed by law.

Can Van Luc, Chief Economist of BIDV and Member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, said the proposal should be carefully considered to ensure fairness among different groups of public officials. Vietnam has many sectors with special characteristics, so income and job nature must be evaluated comparatively.

According to Luc, there are many ways to support staff in special fields without creating precedents that may trigger public backlash.

“MOF must clearly state what the ‘special nature’ of the tax sector is, and no one understands this better than the ministry itself. For instance, officers in this sector may need to work day and night, especially at the end of quarters or year-end, but many other sectors face similar workloads. Therefore, a comprehensive review is needed, especially for special fields and professions, to ensure fairness,” Luc emphasized.

Nguyen Duc Loc, Director of the Institute for Social Life Research, said that social fairness is a mandatory criterion for any proposal involving legislation or legally binding documents.

According to Loc, any proposal to support 100 percent salary for tax officials or other public officials must clearly state its legitimate basis.

“Each sector has its own characteristics and level of contribution. Therefore, only when there is a separate legal provision should a special mechanism be applied; otherwise it may cause public debate on fairness,” Loc said.

Furthermore, all policies that bring benefits to a group of civil servants must ensure the universality of the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants.

“When you want to change something, there must be a justification for that change. If this case is opened and other sectors also propose similar mechanisms, will the original law still retain its value?” he said.

“In principle, all policy proposals must not conflict with the current legal system; otherwise, it will lead to inconsistency in implementation. When drafting legal normative documents where each sector only focuses on its own benefits, it easily leads to asynchronous and unsustainable development in the relevant legal system,” Loc warned.

Nguyen Le