In 2016, central budget collections were anticipated to drop by some US$2.22 billion due to plunging global oil prices.— Photo vietnamnet.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The development of a taxpayers' database is necessary to improve the management of tax agencies and prevent tax evasions, such as transfer pricing, according to Deputy Minister of Finance Do Hoang Anh Tuan.

However, developing a taxpayer database would require the coordination of many organisations in different industries, such as garment, textile, footwear and beverages, he said at an online meeting last Friday, held by the General Department of Taxation.

Tuan noted that simplifying tax administrative procedures, coupled with applying information technology, were first steps in developing a reliable database for better management.

With a taxpayer database containing transparent financial indicators, the quality of forecasts of budget collections would be improved, said Tran Van Phu, Deputy General Director of the taxation department.

At the conference, tax authorities also raised concerns about difficulties in collecting tax debts and slow tax refunds.

Nguyen Dinh An, Deputy Director of Da Nang Taxation Department, said that tax refund regulations must be made clear, as enterprises were angry about slow refunds, while they had to pay fines due to the slow payment of debts.

In 2016, central budget collections were anticipated to drop by some VND50 trillion (US$2.22 billion) due to plunging global oil prices.

To cope with this drop, tax departments urged provinces and cities throughout the country to raise measures to promote production and business, while focusing on handing tax debts and enhancing inspections in sectors in which tax frauds and transfer pricing commonly occurred.

During the 2016-20 period, the General Department of Taxation set a goal for domestic tax collections to reach more than 80 per cent of total budget revenues, while increasing by 10 per cent over the previous five-year period.

This was an effort to implement the 12th Party Congress Resolution, which said that the proportion of tax collections to the State budget must be at least equal to 21-22 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and ensure a budget deficit of below 4 per cent and public debt at below 65 per cent of GDP.

Still, the department said that tax collections must be increased in line with economic growth and price index increases.

Last year, tax collections reached VND806.3 trillion, or 110.2 per cent of estimates. — VNS