Proposal to soon adjust personal income tax towards increasing family deduction level

Need to restructure 3 driving forces of the economy

On the morning of June 17, National Assembly deputies discussed in the hall the results of the implementation of the socio-economic development plan and state budget in 2024; the implementation of the socio-economic development plan and state budget in the first months of 2025.

Delegate Tran Hoang Ngan (HCMC) expressed his joy at the results achieved in 2024 and the first months of 2025, especially the fact that Vietnam has achieved 15/15 socio-economic targets despite the impacts of global instability.

He emphasized that the macro economy continues to be stable, inflation is controlled at below 4% throughout the 2015-2024 period; major balances are ensured, especially the continuous trade surplus from 2016 to present.

Vietnam's per capita income has reached the upper middle income threshold. The global innovation index increased by 2 places, the national happiness index increased by 8 places, ranking 46/143 countries.

For the economy to grow rapidly and sustainably in the new period, Mr. Tran Hoang Ngan said that long-term strategic solutions are needed, persistently pursuing three breakthroughs in institutions, infrastructure and human resources.

"In particular, we must restructure the three traditional driving forces: export, investment and consumption. In particular, we need to pay more attention to domestic consumption. We propose that the Government soon submit to the National Assembly a policy to increase aggregate demand and that it is necessary to soon adjust personal income tax in the direction of increasing the family deduction level. I think we should not continue to delay this matter," said Mr. Tran Hoang Ngan.

In addition, to reduce external shocks, it is necessary to maximize potential and advantages such as agriculture, marine economy, and services.

In particular, agriculture has advantages in climate, land and skills. If properly invested, it can develop into high-tech agriculture.

Regarding the marine economy, there needs to be strong enough policies to exploit the potential and advantages of maritime, oil and gas, energy, fisheries and tourism.

When exports face difficulties, tourism - as an "on-the-spot export" industry - will become a new growth driver.

Regarding services, he proposed to strongly develop finance and banking with two international financial centers in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang; at the same time, promote high-quality medical services, a field in which Vietnam has many advantages.

No matter how smart you are, you can't tell the difference between fake and good.

According to Delegate To Van Tam (Kon Tum delegation), in the first 4 months of 2025, localities discovered and arrested more than 30,000 cases of violations related to counterfeit goods, fake goods, and trade fraud, collecting more than 4,800 billion VND for the state budget, and criminally prosecuting 1,450 cases with more than 2,100 subjects.

Reality shows that the production and trade of counterfeit goods, fake goods, and commercial fraud are still increasing despite the efforts of authorities.

Notably, fake food, fake medicine, fake cosmetics and other fake goods have been circulating on the market for many years, showing that the counterfeit goods are traded in a sophisticated and complex manner. The production and trade of counterfeit goods even has the support of a number of degenerate and corrupt officials.

“The phenomenon of counterfeit goods flooding the internet, with the promotion of some influential people, has created a picture of counterfeit goods with all kinds of colors, making it difficult for consumers, no matter how smart, to distinguish between fake and genuine goods,” said Mr. To Van Tam.

On March 8, 2025, the Government issued Decree 46, which emphasized the strengthening of market management, the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods. However, Mr. Tam said that the Government needs to strengthen inspection and review the implementation process of competent agencies, and review the consistency in management and inspection.

In addition, we have a fairly complete legal framework for preventing counterfeit goods and commercial fraud, but in reality, consumers have hardly been compensated for losses in money, health or life.

“The difficulty here is how consumers can prove that the goods are counterfeit, because it is not easy to assess the level of error. Therefore, the Government needs to promote legal aid and legal advice activities so that people can effectively use this tool to protect their rights,” said delegate To Van Tam.

According to the delegate, counterfeit goods and trade fraud can be considered a “national disaster” in many aspects, due to the social consequences they create. Therefore, the prevention of counterfeit goods and trade fraud needs to be raised to the level of a national strategy.