On the morning of October 23, at the second session of the 16th National Assembly, Finance Minister Ngo Van Tuan, acting under authorization from the prime minister, presented draft laws amending several laws. One proposal concerns amendments to the law on non-agricultural land-use tax.
The government proposed adding a provision applying a 0.2% tax rate without a land-use limit to abandoned land, land not put into use, and land put into use late.
The current non-agricultural land-use tax law took effect in 2010. For residential land, it sets progressive rates of 0.03% for area within the limit, 0.07% for the portion exceeding the limit by no more than three times, and 0.15% for the portion exceeding the limit by more than three times.
The rate for non-agricultural land used for production and business is 0.03%. Land used for an improper purpose and land not used in accordance with regulations are taxed at 0.15%, while encroached land is taxed at 0.2%.
Compared with the lowest rate of 0.03%, which currently applies to several types of land including non-agricultural land used for business, the proposed 0.2% rate for abandoned land would be seven times higher.
Implementation concerns
Reviewing this part of the draft law, the Economic and Financial Committee noted that current legislation already sets a 0.15% rate for land not used in accordance with regulations. In substance, this covers land not put into use or put into use late.
Adding the new provision without amending the existing one could therefore lead to the same parcel being subject to two different tax rates.
The committee also noted that, in draft amendments to the Land Law, the government proposes charging investment projects that do not use land or use it late an additional land-use or land-rental payment that would increase annually. If the land is still not put into use after 60 months, it could be recovered.
As a result, the same unused project land could be subject both to the additional land-use or rental payment and to a 0.2% non-agricultural land-use tax. The committee said this would duplicate financial obligations for the same conduct.
Another issue concerns the feasibility of applying the rate to abandoned land, land not put into use, or land put into use late. Tax authorities currently do not have data on these types of land. Identification depends on inspections, handling decisions, and public announcements by people's committees at different levels and land-management authorities, while the national land database is not yet complete.
Based on these points, the committee proposed clarifying how the 0.2% rate relates to payments required under land legislation, avoiding duplicated financial obligations without reducing the obligations in cases currently subject to the 0.15% rate.
It also proposed setting an effective date that is consistent with the amended Land Law. If clear criteria cannot yet be established, the government should report a specific option and implementation timetable to the National Assembly. The assessment should also cover the impact on the state budget and taxpayers, as well as the feasibility of implementation.
Sources: Thanh Niên
