Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The Government has submitted a proposal to the NationalAssembly to extend the agricultural land tax exemption policy to the end of2025 to support farmers and encourage the development of agriculture.

TheMinistry of Finance said an estimated 7.5 trillion VND (3.2 billion USD) inagricultural land tax would be exempted every year in the 2021-2025 period,which was expected to return to the sector as an investment to expandproduction, improve productivity and product quality.

The ministrysaid the agricultural land tax exemption would not cause a drop in State budgetrevenue because this policy was already implemented from 2001. Under theNational Assembly’s Resolution 55/2010/QH12 dated on November 24, 2010, theexemption was set to run until the end of this year.

Over thepast two decades, the policy had been proven to help improve farmers’ life andgenerate jobs for the rural sector, through which, farmers could have thecapital to reinvest and apply science and technology in agricultural production.

Thepolicy also encouraged farmers not to leave land deserted and help them feelsecure when investing in agriculture.

TheMinistry of Finance, however, noted that the land tax exemption alone was notenough, adding that a combination of policies was needed to promote efficientagricultural production.

Inaddition, the ministry said agricultural land which was used for wrong purposesmust be revoked and handed to those who use it efficiently.

Pham Dinh Thi, Director of theministry’s Tax Policy Department, said the agricultural land tax exemptionpolicy was critical to the sector.

Thi saidthe exemption was also in line with Vietnam’s international commitments andinternational practices.

Theministry’s statistics showed more than 10 million farmers and 6 millionhectares of agricultural land enjoyed the exemption each year in 2003-2010 witha sum worth an average of 3.2 trillion VND in agricultural land tax exemptedeach year.

In 2011-2016,the exemption benefited 12 million farmers and more than 7 million hectares ofland. The exempted tax was worth 6.3 trillion VND per year.

In 2017-2018,more than 12 million farmers and more than 8 million hectares of agriculturalland enjoyed the exemption with an average of 7.4 trillion VND in tax exemptedper year.

The valuein 2013-2018 totalled 17 trillion VND, the finance ministry said, adding thatthe sum created an important direct financial resource for the agriculturalsector./.