HANOI - Businesses and individual taxpayers across Vietnam are set to rejoice a new round of tax cuts, which will see significant reductions in obligations in a select number of business sectors in the country. According to a Decree of the government of Vietnam enacted on November 4th, individuals taxpayers with personal incomes below VND 5 000 000 (USD 240) per month will be exempt from paying taxes on incomes dividends gained from securities or stock purchases. Personal income taxes on profits derived ... Read More

The National Assembly of Vietnam is still undecided on several changes proposed for the tax system of Vietnam, with contention rising with the release of a new report criticizing mechanisms proposed for the tax reform. On July 13th the Standing Committee of the National Assembly of Vietnam held a scheduled session devoted to reviewing a government proposal to instate a series of temporary tax reforms and exemptions worth approximately VND 4.2 trillion (USD 205.8 million) in the 2011 year, and another VND 2.2 ... Read More

Vietnam will soon boost its investigations into transfer pricing practices of local businesses, in order to decrease the occurrence of tax evasion and spurn national tax revenues. The tax authorities of two of Vietnam’s primary business centers are launching pilot programs of increased investigations into the transfer pricing behavior of local units of international businesses. According to Nguyen Van Mo, deputy head of the tax department in Hanoi, and Le Thi Thu Huong, deputy head of the Ho Chi Minh City tax authority, ... Read More

Governments of emerging Asian economies have been warned to be ready for sudden increases in investment capital inflows, and prepare appropriate policy responses. On May 18th the Asian Development Bank (ADB) released its annual Asian Capital Markets Monitor report, which investigates the performance and outlooks for the equity, bond and currency markets in emerging economies. According to the report, several factors have cumulatively increased the risk of Asian economies facing sudden high levels of investment capitals, leading potential destabilization of currency and financial ... Read More

The legislation governing taxation of interest earned on bonds and certificates of deposit (CD) held by foreign investors carrying out business in Vietnam have changed, resulting in a greatly increased tax burden. The Government of Vietnam recently released Circular 64, a new piece of legislation taking effect on June 7th and altering the tax treatment of the interest earned on bonds and CD held by overseas investors. Under the new regulations, interest earned will be subject to a 10 percent level of taxation. ... Read More