Small businessmen hope Assembly will approve tax reductions

VietNamNet Bridge – Small merchants are as nervous as cats on hot bricks. For them, much depends on the final decision of the National Assembly on a proposed tax exemption and reduction. The Assembly’s vote is expected soon.

Demand for goods and services has fallen dramatically since the end of 2008. Some markets have reported a fall of 50 percent in sales as people are still trying to tighten their belts and limit spending during the economic crisis period.

If the National Assembly approves tax exemption . . .

458,000 business households may benefit from tax exemption or reduction If the proposal by the Ministry of Finance is approved, small business households in particular may enjoy tax reduction or exemption. It is estimated that 458,000 business households would be exempted from 1.3 trillion dong of tax, while only 249,100 employees would enjoy a tax exemption totaling 1,100 billion dong

Phuoc, who sells rice and eggs at Nhat Tao Market in HCM City, complained that his sales have dropped by 2/3 compared to 2008. Meanwhile, he has to pay 500,000 dong in tax each month, more than he did 2008. Phuoc said that if the National Assembly does not agree to reduce the tax burden, he and other small business households will be in serious trouble.

Truc, the owner of a convenience store in Go Vap district, HCMC, related that she has had to pay 344,000 dong in tax every month. She was so happy, she said, when she heard that the Ministry of Finance has proposed to waive the personal income tax (PIT) for the first six months of the year and grant a 200,000 dong per month tax reduction from July 1, 2009 until the end of 2010.

Truc said that if the National Assembly approves the suggestion, Truc and small business households like hers will not have to pay PIT. “In fact, 200,000 dong is not really a big sum, but it has big significance,” she added. “As the Vietnamese saying goes, a small piece of bread at the time when you are hungry is as valuable as a whole loaf of bread when you are full.”

Minh, who sells consumer products at Tan Son Nhat Market, said that the proposed PIT exemption for the first six months of the year and 200,000 dong tax reduction until the end of 2010 will help petty merchants a lot. They will have more money to spend on their children’s schooling and their family’s meals.

Phuc, who sells confectionary products at Phu Nhuan Market, said that the purchasing power has decreased by a half

Only 9.5 percent of business households are ‘high income’

According to the HCM City Taxation Agency, there are 126,000 business households in the city, but only 12,000 households, or 9.5 percent, have a monthly income of 11 million dong and higher, and so will be obliged to pay taxes if the 200,000 dong reduction is approved.

Tran Thi Le Nga of the HCM City Tax Agency explained that under the current law, which grants an exemption of 4 million dong per month per taxpayer and a 1.6 million dong exemption for up to two dependent members of the taxpayer’s family), 114,000 households in the metropolis, or 90 percent of the its business households, have a taxable income of less than four million dong per month. The current tax on four million dong is 200,000 dong, so 90 percent of these households will not have to pay PIT until the end of 2010.

Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Cong Nghiep also said that nationwide, there are nearly two million business households, but only 458,000 households have an income high enough to be taxed. If the ministry’s exemption proposal is approved, only about nine percent, or less than 100,000, will be liable to any tax for the next eighteen months.

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Vietnam’s “Week for Sea, Islands”

VietNamNet Bridge – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has agreed to annually organise the “Week for Sea, Islands of Vietnam” from June 1-8.

Vietnam has over 3,200 km of coast, spanning 28 provinces and cities, and a total sea area of over 1 million sq.km, with around 3,000 islands. The sea and islands account for nearly one-fourth of the country’s GDP.

The event is a response to World Environment Day (June 5) and World Ocean Day (June 8).

The PM assigned the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) to combine with related agencies and provinces to organise the event.

The vice chief of the Vietnam General Department of Sea and Islands, Nguyen Chu Hoi, said that as the PM has given his assent to the organisation of the “Week for Sea, Islands” as an annual event, the first task is setting up a national steering board for this event.

Hoi said the steering board will gather representatives of related ministries and agencies, such as the Defence Ministry, the naval forces, the search and rescue committees of 28 coastal provinces, the MoNRE and the General Department of Sea and Islands.

The general department asked the MoNRE to seek the government’s approval for the grant of “For the country’s blue sea” awards to organisations and individuals who have made contributions to the sustainable development of and the protection of Vietnam’s sovereignty over sea and islands at the annual “Week for Sea, Islands”.

The first “Week for Sea, Islands” took place from June 1-8 with various activities like a photo exhibition, coast-cleaning campaigns and others.

According to Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Van Duc, this is an activity to raise people’s awareness of national sovereignty and the sustainable exploitation and use of sea resources.

Vietnam has over 3,200 km of coast, spanning 28 provinces and cities, and a total sea area of over 1 million sq.km, with around 3,000 islands. The sea and islands account for nearly one-fourth of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

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Lack of investment capital keeping border gate economic zones deserted

VietNamNet Bridge – The plan on developing border gate economic zones in the southwest was initiated several years ago. However, little progress has been made, with the economic zones remaining largely on paper.

Border gate economic zones not taken shape yet

The road to Thuong Phuoc border gate economic zone

At Dinh Ba international border gate in Dong Thap, bordering Cambodia, besides the row of low-roofed resettlement houses and areas which have been designated bonded zones, border gate markets and trade centres, there are only deserted land plots. The border market here has been operational since January 2004, but there are only several shops and inns, while the majority of kiosks are used as accommodations or are permanently closed.

In fact, in 2000, Dong Thap province began clearing sites for the Dinh Ba economic zone. A 13 hectare area of clear land was obtained and a border market was built at the Dinh Ba international border gate area. The province’s authorities allocated the budget of 13 billion dong for expanding two residential areas with the total area of 26 hectares. In 2006, the Dinh Ba Border Gate Economic Zone Management Board was officially established; it then ordered heavier investment in infrastructure development.

However, to date, the border gate economic zone has not taken shape.

Similarly, Vinh Xuong border gate economic zone in Vinh Xuong district in An Giang province remains a vast sand bank. The asphalt road leading to the border gate has become a place for farmers to dry paddies and keep smuggled goods.

Thuong Phuoc economic zone in Dong Thap province has been operational since 2001, but administrative areas, bonded warehouses and trade centres have not even past the site clearance phase.

No investment capital

Every year, the state budgets capital for investment in important infrastructure items in border gate economic zones. However, local authorities’ officials said that the allocated capital is just ‘a grain of salt in the sea’, which means it is too little to be of any use.

Nguyen Van Ly, Head of the Dong Thap Border Gate Economic Zones’ Management Board, said that provincial authorities have even had to use capital from other programmes and projects for economic zone development.

To date, the total investment capital for Dinh Ba and Thuong Phuoc economic zones is 150 billion dong, while site clearance and the resettlement area for Thuong Phuoc zone alone cost nearly 50 billion dong.

“The capital demand is very big, estimated at one thousand billion dong. Meanwhile, the central budget gives money in dribs and drabs and local budgets are limited. That explains why the works have been going slowly,” Ly said.

Similarly, An Giang province, which has three economic zones, only gets 8-12 billion dong a year. “In 2009, we will get 15 billion dong, but this sum proves to be too small,” said Le Huu Trang, Deputy Head of the provincial border gate economic zone management board.

Under the regulations on border gate economic zone development, besides capital from the state budget, local authorities have the right to call for capital from domestic and foreign investors. The amount they are able to get largely depends on the finance and credit incentives given to investors.

A policy was once applied that people visiting economic zones could enjoy tax exemptions on 500,000 dong worth of goods per person per day at the trade centres there. With the mechanism, a lot of enterprises applied to open duty-free supermarkets, committing to invest in infrastructure items in the zones, including river ports and bonded warehouses.

However, the policy was removed in early 2009. As a result, the investment projects investors committed to before have been cancelled and border gate economic zones have fallen again into dormancy.

In the latest news, provincial authorities have proposed that the Government re-initiate the policy on exempting tax for purchasing goods at border gate economic zones. They said that only tax exemption policies can help attract the necessary investment into the zones.

VietNamNet/TT

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IBM sets up ’innovation center’ in Vietnam

VietNamNet Bridge - US computer giant IBM on Friday announced it had set up its first "innovation center" in Vietnam and forged partnerships with leading Vietnamese universities.

The IBM Innovation Center, located in Ho Chi Minh City, aims to develop "new technologies to support demand for digital infrastructure projects in banking, telecommunications, energy and government industries," IBM said.

The center will provide entrepreneurs, business partners, academics and venture capitalists across Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos with access to training workshops and consulting services to help bring new technologies to market.

IBM, in a statement, also said it had agreed to collaborate with Vietnam National University's University of Technology in Ho Chi Minh City and with VNU's College of Technology in Hanoi.

It said it will help establish a cloud computing center at the Ho Chi Minh City campus and a Service Science Management and Engineering department at the Hanoi school.

"With this IBM Innovation Center and new university collaborations, we are able to make IBM's technical resources and expertise more accessible to fuel innovation and help local businesses and academics compete on a global scale," said Jim Corgel, an IBM general manager for developer relations.

IBM said the information technology sector in Vietnam has been growing at more than 20 percent annually and that more than 20 million Vietnamese have access to the Internet today.

IBM currently runs 43 innovation centers around the world.

VietNamNet/SGGP/AFP

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Vietnam tightens flu tests for passengers

VietNamNet Bridge - Eighteen people, including 14 that shared a plane with a woman who had been found to have the H1N1 flu virus and quarantined in South Korea, have tested negative for virus, said Dr. Phan Van Nghiem from Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health on May 22.

All passengers are measured their temperature in ariports in the country

They were allowed to return home, with two US citizens completing formalities to return to their country on May 23.

The director of Ho Chi Minh Department of Health, Nguyen Van Chau, announced that seven passengers with high fever and placed in quarantine have also tested negative for the influenza A/H1N1 virus.

Vietnam has yet to report any cases of the flu.

Acute diarrhea cases fall

For the last two days, no province has reported any cases of acute diarrhea, with tough measures and strict checks at dog meat eateries bringing a possible halt to the virus, said a health official on May 22.

There have been 832 cases of acute diarrhea, including 88 testing positive for the virulent vibrio cholera virus and one fatality, said Dr. Nguyen Huy Nga, head of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Environment.

Tests carried out by the National Institute of hygiene and Epidemiology showed that people in the northern mountain province of Yen Bai and the central province of Nghe An are positive for cholera virus.

15 provinces in the country have acute diarrhea caused by cholera virus.

Epidemiologists said that it takes a long time to control acute diarrhea caused by cholera, and fresh outbreaks may occur due to poor hygiene conditions and lax behavior in food safety.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cao Duc Phat, to help reduce cholera cases, has ordered health authorities and relevant agencies to ban blood pudding, as well as the sale of live animals in cities. Animals without any clear origin cannot be traded.

VietNamNet/SGGP

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Australian wine, food whet city’s appetite

VietNamNet Bridge - The Australian Wine and Food Show will come to Ho Chi Minh City this month, with a variety of wines and speciality foods being showcased, it was announced May 22.

L-R: New World Hotel F&B director Mathing Widor, Jetstar Pacific finance director Tristan Freeman, Catalina Rosebay chief Paul McMahon, and Vino GM Jim Cawood at a press briefing May 22 (Photo: Truong Son)

One-hundred and fifty types of wines and various Australian specialties like beef, lamb, cheeses, oyster and other sea food will be served up between May 25 and 29.

Pre-shows will be held at various restaurants and hotels before the big event on May 29, including New World, Qing, Jaspa’s, ZanZBar, Hoa Tuc, Cepage, Xu, The Boat House and Sandals.

A set-lunch, including wine, will be available for VND250,000 (US$14) per person.

On May 26 and 27, the Parkview restaurant, New World Hotel, will serve four-course dinners at US$65 per person.

The highlight of the food show will take place from noon to 4pm on May 29 for businesspeople and noon to 4pm on May 30 for the public.

Tickets cost VND180,000 (US$10).

The show also features a gala dinner on May 29 at the New World hotel, prepared by guest chef Paul McMahon from Catalina Rose Bay restaurant in Sydney. He will prepare a menu with Tasmania salmon, moonfish caught from south of Australia, Blackmores Wagyu beef from Victoria state, and Chlamys Nobilis from Queensland.

During the gala dinner, the guests will be served with the winning wine from the Australian Wine Contest, which will be held on May 28 at the hotel also.

Tickets for the gala dinner are US$120 per person, or US$1,100 for a table of 10.

The second annual Australian Wine and Food Show is sponsored by the Australian Consulate, the Australian financial institution ANZ Bank, budget air carrier Jetstar, The Word magazine and the Australian marketing agency Red.

VietNamNet/SGGP

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Enterprising sportsman

Disabled swimmer Tran Van Dieu before a relay competition at the national paragames in Quang Tri Province in May.

VietNamNet Bridge - From small beginnings, training for his province’s disabled swimming team in a river, Tran Van Dieu, has progressed to win more than 60 medals and own his own business.

The 30-year-old from the central province of Quang Tri who began swimming competitively in 2003, was born to poor farming parents with four siblings in Gio Chau Commune, Gio Linh District. His parents had to battle to raise enough food to feed their children in the barren soil ruined by wars.

Before he was one year old, Dieu’s legs became paralyzed from a disease.

“I grew older but couldn’t do anything to help my parents. I had a burning desire to leave home to make a living on my own, to make it easier for my parents,” Dieu said.

“In 1995, I went to Ai Tu Town (also in Quang Tri) to work. After two years, I had saved some money. I learned carpentry and handicrafts and came back home to establish a handicraft factory and got married.”

Dieu said he started swimming by chance in 2003 – an official from the district Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism came to ask if he wanted to train to compete for the province.

Dieu agreed but the province’s sport budget was so low that there was no pool to practice in – so they trained in the Hieu River.

“It was very hard for the disabled swimming team because the river was wide and the current was strong,” Dieu said.

“At times, I thought I would quit and go home, but then I looked at everyone else. They were in the same situation but still training hard. It encouraged me to try harder.”

Dieu practiced tirelessly and later that year won three gold medals in a provincial competition.

It was very encouraging for him and soon after that Dieu grabbed four golds in a national swimming competition for disabled people and three silvers at the Southeast Asian Paragames the same year.

Training disabled workers

Dieu said training with the team in the Hieu River was the first time he had spent a lot of time with other disabled people. It inspired him to help underprivileged people.

“I realized I was luckier than many of them as I was earning a living on my own and taking care of my family.”

After building up his carpentry and handicraft business for about a decade, his factory had gained a good reputation in the province.

“I wished to help disadvantaged people get a job and a stable life like me,” he said.

His dream came true in 2007 when he had saved enough money from his business and cash prizes from swimming competitions to set up Xuan Dieu Enterprises.

He now employs 16 workers including eight disabled people and orphans. Dieu said he is happy to help them but would like to be able to afford to pay them more. It’s fortunate his wife and family support him, he said.

Some of the people he has trained have established their own businesses.

At the national paragames in Quang Tri earlier this month, Dieu took two golds, one silver and one bronze. He said he is passionate about swimming because it keeps him healthy and has helped him make friends who have disabilities like him.

VietNamNet/TN

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