Hanoi (VNA) – The tax sector has made efforts to reform its procedures but has yet to meet requirements for intensive i🐭ntegration, heard a conference seeking to ♚improve the business environment through tax reform in Hanoi on September 15.

Hoang Tien Loi, an expert at the USAID Governance for Inclusive Growth (GIG) Programme in Vietnam, said that an online survey on 80 enterprises revealed that the firms acknowledged the tax sector’s positive reform changes, including reducing the tax-payment duration. However, 9.3 percent of businesses said that they are facing difficulties in registering tax-payment, while 14.7 percent reported problems in receipts, 32 percent met obstacles in tax declaration, and 13.3 percent faced tax payment matters, he said. At the same time, constant changes in tax policies have confused businesses, while the delay of e-tax declaration in a number of taxes as well as tax refund has also posed an impediment, noted Loi. Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Cuc, President of the Tax Consultants’ Association, said that surveys in localities proved that besides positive changes, the tax sector has also showed shortcomings, including a lack of a legal principle in the settlement of all cases, leading to different ways to deal with the same problem. Cuc proposed that the tax policy should be changed systematically and regularly updated to support the tax sector, businesses, and people. At the same time, Michael D’Ascenzo, a consultant of the USAID GIG Vietnam, said that Vietnam has a lot to do to reduce tax compliance cost of businesses. He proposed improving the entire State management system, not only the tax sector, along with improving tax officials’ capacity and serving attitude. D’Ascenzo also suggested that the General Department of Taxation, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Vietnam Social Insurance as well as other related agencies should strengthen their coordination to eliminate unnecessary tax procedures.-VNA