Taxing digital assets: Need to follow a roadmap

Significant budget revenue

In the draft Law on Personal Income Tax (replacement), the Ministry of Finance proposed that income from the transfer of digital assets (including virtual assets, crypto assets) on transparently managed exchanges will be subject to tax. The expected tax rate is 0.1% on the transfer value of each transaction, similar to that applied to securities.

Previously, there was no clear legal framework for trading or owning digital assets. However, the Law on Digital Technology Industry was passed by the National Assembly on June 14, 2025, which officially recognized digital assets. Vietnam is gradually perfecting the legal framework related to digital assets, including the proposal to pilot the crypto asset market, opening up opportunities for technology organizations to participate in building digital infrastructure.

Vietnam is currently among the countries with the highest level of access and interest in cryptocurrencies in the world . According to a report by blockchain data platform Chainalysis, Vietnam ranks 5th globally in terms of interest in cryptocurrencies and third in terms of the use of international trading platforms. There are currently about 17 million Vietnamese people owning cryptocurrencies, with a total market value of over 100 billion USD. Therefore, if a reasonable tax mechanism is applied, Vietnam can generate significant budget revenue from this market. According to the Vietnam Blockchain Association, if a 0.1% transaction tax is applied, similar to the fee levied on securities transactions, Vietnam can collect more than 800 million USD in taxes each year thanks to the huge volume of cryptocurrency transactions.

Dr. Pham Nguyen Anh Huy, Senior Lecturer in Finance, School of Business (RMIT University Vietnam) highly appreciated the efforts of the Ministry of Finance in bringing digital assets into the tax framework, in order to properly reflect the nature of income arising from digital asset transactions. Applying a tax rate of 0.1% similar to securities is a reasonable step in the short term because of its simplicity, ease of application and no requirement for complex asset valuation. This approach will be easy to deploy technically through digital infrastructure, especially when transactions take place on transparent exchanges.

Sharing the same view, expert Nguyen Quang Huy, Executive Director of the Faculty of Finance and Banking (Nguyen Trai University) said that this is a clear step forward in policy thinking, when the State begins to take steps to identify digital assets in the formal management framework, instead of letting it exist as a gray area. The choice of a tax rate of 0.1% - equivalent to the securities transfer tax - is reasonable in form, creating consistency in the approach to assets with investment and trading properties on digital platforms. However, applying the same tax rate to these two types of assets requires careful consideration in terms of technology and management practices, in order to avoid creating unintended consequences or causing imbalances between groups of investors.

Need a balanced tax model

Expert Nguyen Quang Huy also believes that the design of tax policies for digital assets should be viewed not only from the perspective of fiscal management, but also as a lever for market creation - where transparency, legitimacy and innovation are encouraged. To achieve that harmony, some solutions can be considered such as: Classifying digital assets and designing appropriate tax rates; prioritizing simple, easy-to-comply tax mechanisms; creating development space for domestic fintech enterprises. In particular, there should be a flexible testing and adjustment roadmap. Accordingly, tax policies for digital assets should start on a small scale, possibly piloted on a number of exchanges with good data infrastructure and high compliance levels. From there, managers can gradually adjust according to actual feedback, before expanding.

Meanwhile, Dr. Chu Thanh Tuan, Deputy Head of the Bachelor of Business program (RMIT University Vietnam), expressed his opinion that to attract investment while ensuring a stable source of tax revenue, Vietnam needs a balanced tax model. Low transaction taxes combined with capital gains taxes in the personal income tax bracket can help maintain fairness without weakening the market. In addition, Vietnam should consider exempting cryptocurrencies from value-added tax, as the European Union and Singapore have done, to avoid double taxation and maintain competitiveness in the regional market.

Another important solution is to strengthen the supervision of exchanges by requiring domestic trading platforms to report detailed transactions. This will help tax authorities monitor activities more effectively. At the same time, Vietnam needs to cooperate with international organizations to monitor cross-border transactions and prevent tax evasion. Instead of focusing solely on tax revenue, the government can also generate additional revenue from operating licensing fees by requiring cryptocurrency exchanges and initial coin offerings (ICOs) to be officially registered.

"If a simple, competitive and balanced tax system can be established, Vietnam can both generate significant revenue from digital assets and promote the development of a sustainable digital asset ecosystem," said Mr. Chu Thanh Tuan.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/danh-thue-tai-san-so-can-thuc-hien-theo-lo-trinh-711983.html