The National Assembly on November 19 held a plenary discussion on the draft Law on Tax Administration (amended) and the draft Law on Personal Income Tax (amended).

The draft Personal Income Tax (PIT) Law includes a regulation on imposing a 0.1 percent tax rate on gold bar transfers to increase market transparency and restrict speculation. The Government will specify the taxable threshold, effective date, and adjustments to the tax rate in accordance with the gold market management roadmap.

Delegate Pham Van Hoa of Dong Thap agreed that those buying and selling gold bars for speculative profit should be taxed. However, he argued that the 0.1 percent tax is insignificant for these actors, and suggested imposing a stronger income adjustment to prevent excessive speculation that destabilizes the market.

Hoa noted that many families buy gold for savings, accumulation for their children, or to sell during emergencies such as illness. For these people, he said, taxation should not apply.

Delegate Tran Kim Yen of HCMC recommended reviewing the risks of double taxation.

Agreeing with Hoa, she explained: “Most people see gold as a savings asset accumulated year after year. They buy very small volumes of gold and hoard under the bed in anticipation of emergencies and life events such as funerals, weddings, or illness. This gold is purchased using post-tax income, and now selling it would again be taxed.”

She questioned whether this constitutes ‘double taxation’ and said taxing citizens’ gold savings may not be humane or socially meaningful.

"We are trying to tax speculators and market manipulators with the desire to stabilize the gold market. However, the 0.1 percent tax rate is not enough to deter gold trading speculation since it is insignificant compared to the profit margin earned by speculators,” she said. 

“The important thing is to have measures to limit speculation and manage the gold market healthily," Yen added.

She agreed with the idea to assign the Government to regulate the threshold value of gold bars subject to tax and the time of applying the tax rate on gold bar transfers. She expressed the hope that the Government would quickly issue a decree to apply the tax as soon as the law takes effect.

Prior to that, Delegate Le Thi Thanh Lam (Can Tho) said that it must be implemented with a clear distinction between speculative activities and simple accumulation, so as not to affect people who buy gold just to save.

She proposed developing a flexible declaration and deduction mechanism, allowing gold businesses, future trading platforms, or commercial banks to withhold and file taxes on behalf of traders, thereby reducing administrative burdens for individuals.

Delegate Trinh Xuan An (Dong Nai) stated that taxing gold bar transfers is a new regulation and no other country imposes that kind of tax like Vietnam. However, the delegate found the proposal to be reasonable given Vietnam's characteristics and specifics in gold management.

Responding to the opinions of many delegates who suggested not taxing people who buy gold for saving, An stated that it is "very difficult to distinguish between buying gold for saving and buying gold for speculation."

He said that taxing only gold bars is appropriate as part of a broader set of regulatory tools.

“It cannot be called ‘saving’ when people stay up all night, queue from 3 am to register to buy gold bars, and when they cannot buy gold bars, they turn to gold rings. That must not be saving,” he said.

An said the 0.1 percent rate is reasonable but proposed that any future adjustments should be decided by the National Assembly Standing Committee.

He added, “Taxing gold bar transfers does not risk double taxation and does not harm citizens’ savings.”

Finance Minister Nguyen Van Thang later explained that the proposal on taxing gold transfers has been thoroughly reviewed based on feedback from ministries and agencies.

He said the primary goal of the tax is to regulate gold-trading behavior and prevent speculation that creates pressure on the gold and foreign exchange markets.

“Citizens are ultimately the ones harmed when gold prices are manipulated,” he stressed, calling the tax one among several measures to stabilize the gold market.

Regarding timing, he said the Government would carefully consider the appropriate application date, adding: “Our research shows this is not a case of double taxation.”