Many science and technology enterprises after establishment have not taken advantage of the competitive advantages from applying new technology and policies. As a result, they do not meet the conditions for revenue, enjoy preferential policies, and struggle in corporate governance, making it difficult to develop.

Many obstacles in operation

Ms. Chu Van Hai, Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City, said that Ho Chi Minh City currently has 111 certified science and technology enterprises. In addition, the number of enterprises eligible for certification is over 700. This shows that the potential for developing a network of science and technology enterprises in the city is still very large. Along with that, the city has 36 incubators, organizations supporting creative startups, 13 co-working spaces and about 2,000 innovative startups... "In reality, developing science and technology enterprises also faces many obstacles. To be recognized as a science and technology enterprise, it is necessary to prove ownership and legal use of science and technology research results; explain the incubation process and mastery of science and technology, prove intellectual property rights...", Ms. Phan Thi Thuy Ly, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City High-Tech Business Incubator, shared.

Currently, the country has more than 800 enterprises recognized as science and technology enterprises out of a total of 3,000 enterprises eligible for recognition. The majority of science and technology enterprises are producing well, creating jobs and contributing to society, including many enterprises in the top 500 fastest growing enterprises in Vietnam. However, many enterprises encounter many difficulties in their operations.

Mr. Hoang Duc Thao, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Science and Technology Enterprises (VTS), commented that science and technology enterprises currently do not enjoy all the incentives as prescribed. For example, enterprises need land incentives, but currently the land fund in industrial parks and production zones is limited, so the regulation on land rent exemption is difficult to apply. Or for enterprises wanting to receive tax incentives, it is quite difficult when they have to ensure growth and revenue from science and technology.

In particular, the issue of personal income tax is not fair and does not encourage creativity. Because scientists who spend their own money and take risks to research, test and then commercialize scientific and technological products also pay taxes like those who do scientific research projects with state funding and receive salaries from the State.

Review support policy

To promote the development of science and technology enterprises, recently, the leaders of the Ministry of Science and Technology had a meeting with the Vietnam Association of Science and Technology Enterprises to discuss policies to support science and technology enterprises and propose solutions to overcome difficulties. At this meeting, Mr. Hoang Duc Thao proposed to create conditions for science and technology enterprises to fully enjoy incentives.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Science and Technology has consulted with the Ministry of Finance and the General Department of Taxation to coordinate in submitting a document to the National Assembly and the Government to study a specific mechanism to expand the scope of application of taxable income from copyright (stipulated in Article 16 of the 2014 Law on Personal Income Tax), applying the income of intellectual property rights authors to the full tax schedule with a tax rate of 5%. Along with that, it is necessary to speed up the process of assessing intellectual property registration applications.

According to experts, keeping up with global trends as well as implementing the Government's policies, in recent times, the Vietnamese business community has actively shifted its development direction based on science, technology and innovation. Without applying science, technology and innovation, businesses cannot compete and improve their competitiveness in the domestic market, as well as penetrate deeper into the international market. Therefore, the important issue for Vietnamese businesses is the need to apply science, technology and innovation quickly and effectively.

In fact, there have been many preferential policies and mechanisms for science and technology enterprises, but according to experts as well as leaders of the Ministry of Science and Technology, they are still not enough, especially the difficulties in connecting and implementing policies between relevant ministries and branches. Therefore, the Ministry of Science and Technology determined that it is necessary to develop strong preferential and supportive policies to encourage the development of science and technology enterprises; it is necessary to focus on clearly defining the role and position of science and technology enterprises; and to increase discussion and exchange on preferential policies for science and technology enterprises in order to clearly assess what can be implemented immediately.

TRAN LUU - BA TAN