HCMC – The Ministry of Finance has affirmed that it has yet to draw up a draft property tax law that will affect owners of homes and land.
In a document sent to other ministries, agencies and local authorities on February 24, the Ministry of Finance sought to consult with them to review some laws as required by the prime minister. The ministry asked if the law on agricultural land and that on non-agricultural land should be merged and if a law on property tax should be drafted, the local media reported.
A representative of the ministry explained that revisions of laws, including tax policy, was a periodic job, as required by the prime minister. If localities, ministries and agencies want to tax houses or other properties, the Ministry of Finance will sum up their opinions and report them to the Government.
Based on the feedback from ministries, agencies and localities and international experiences, the Ministry of Finance will review the deployment of the laws on the use of agricultural land and non-agricultural land and propose solutions to improve real estate tax policy. The law reform will ensure the consistency of asset-related tax policies and match the tax reform plan for 2021-2030.
In 2017, the Government proposed piloting taxing houses in HCMC and special policy for the city, but the proposal was unpopular.
In 2018, the Ministry of Finance also launched a draft property tax law to improve the effectiveness of the use of homes and land and prevent wastefulness in the management of public assets. However, the draft law was not approved due to public objection.
At present, many experts have agreed to tax houses and other properties as the local property market has been witnessing a land price spike, while some others said the authorities should take caution as the law may negatively affect the real estate market and the economy, which has been struggling with multiple difficulties due to the Covid pandemic.
