Customer care staff at telecommunications group Viettel's branch in the north. The group tops the list of tax payers in Viet Nam. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Tu

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — State-owned enterprises (SOEs) continued to lead corporate taxpayers on the list of Viet Nam's top 1,000 corporations by accounting for 65.5 per cent of total corporate income tax payments in the country.

This is so even if the SOEs made up only 29 per cent of the total number of businesses in Viet Nam, according to information that the Viet Nam Report Company, General Department of Taxation and online newspaper Vietnamnet online newspaper released in the V1000 here yesterday.

Specifically, enterprises' total corporate tax reached VND80.4 trillion (US$3.8 billion) or 10.2 per cent of the country's total State budget collection. The top 100 businesses alone made up 57per cent of total corporate tax payments in the list.

Ha Noi had the highest number of companies in the list with 38 per cent of the total, followed by HCM City with 34 per cent.

Notably, businesses in the minerals and petroleum sector led in tax payments with 36 per cent of the total, followed by telecommunications and information with 15.3 per cent and finance with 10.5 per cent.

About 70 per cent of surveyed companies expressed the belief that corporate income tax, still at a high level, had been their biggest hindrance, along with unspecific decrees and guiding documents.

More than 86 per cent of businesses expect a tax decrease in the future while about 81 per cent expressed hopes that administrative procedures will be further simplified, and 76 per cent are looking forward to training and astuteness in the application of tax laws and regulations.

Nearly 81 per cent of surveyed companies said tax officials followed due process and the required time for receiving tax documents while 76 per cent gave good comments on tax official's attitudes. However, around one-third of enterprises were not pleased with the Government's administrative reform.

Ho Manh Tuan, deputy general director of Honda Viet Nam Company, one of the top five corporate taxpayers, said tax payment was a measure of production and business effectivity, and the recognition would be an honour and a boost to the company's prestige.

The corporate tax payment rankings were released for the fifth consecutive year to encourage and honour businesses that contribute to the country's development by paying the correct taxes. — VNS