The government issued Resolution No 02/NQ-CP on January 7, setting for measure to ease difficulties faced by businesses during the prolonged economic downturn. The resolution grants a six-month extension of corporate tax payments due for the first quarter of this year and three-month extensions of corporate tax payments for the second and third quarters.
Eligible are (1) small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) which employ fewer than 200 full-time employees and have annual earnings of less than VND 20 billion (nearly $1million), and (2) enterprises with over 300 workers, operating in the fields of production, outsourcing, food processing products, garment-making, footwear production, electronic parts, and infrastructure construction. Real estate developers shall be eligible to re-schedule corporate tax payments for income from investing and trading in residential housing. The resolution also offers a six-month extension of value-added tax (VAT) payments for January, February, and March to (1) SMEs not operating in the fields of finance, banking, insurance, securities, lotteries or sweepstakes, or the production of goods and services subject to special consumption taxes; (2) enterprises with a large quantity of workers which operate in the fields of production, outsourcing, food processing, garments and footwear, electronic components, and infrastructure construction; (iii) enterprises operating in real estate development or production of construction materials which pay VAT using the deduction method. Enterprises will also be refunded environmental protection taxes paid January 1 through November 14 of last year for nylon bags used for packaging. The resolution also provides for a 50-per-cent reduction in land use fees in 2013-14 if their fees have more than doubled since 2010. Project developers will also be allowed to delay paying land use fees until they collect their sales revenue. Under the resolution, the minister of Finance will also propose to the National Assembly a new corporate income tax rate of 20 percent for SMEs, effective July 1, 2013, with further reductions for developers of low-cost housing
Source: VNS
