Vietnam is planning to slash corporate income tax rates from the current 20-22% to 15-17% in an effort to make the country one of the most competitive economies in ASEAN, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has revealed.

The reform is expected to improve Vietnam's competitiveness. 

The Government leader announced the plans in a speech at the GMS Business Summit held in Hanoi last week.

He reiterated Vietnam’s commitment to an action-oriented government working in the interest of the people and businesses, for which tax reform is one of the crucial undertakings in its efforts to enhance the country’s competitiveness.

PM Phuc said that his government would focus on creating a favourable business environment by fine-tuning the institutions and legal frameworks, improving the administration capacity to bring equal opportunities for all economic sectors.

He also affirmed Vietnam’s commitment to protect intellectual property rights and innovative ideas during the start-up process.

Last year, Vietnam jumped 14 places on the World Bank’s ease of doing business rankings, with corresponding rises of 5 positions on the World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness index and 12 notches on the global innovation index.

Prime Minister Phuc stated that these improvements have boosted the confidence of investors and businesses in the Government’s reform efforts and inspired the Government to continue its reform programme.

Nhan Dan