‘Heated’ Dialogue with the Prime Minister; the Laughter and Tears of Personal Income Tax

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh Answers WEF President’s ‘Hot’ Question

On June 25th, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh participated in a policy dialogue, “A New Era for Vietnam: From Vision to Action,” as part of the 16th Annual Meeting of the Pioneers of the World Economic Forum (WEF Tianjin). The session was moderated by Mr. Borge Brende, President of WEF.

Mr. Borge Brende commended Vietnam as a rapidly growing economy, a rarity in the current global economic landscape. While the world economic growth is expected to slow to around 2.5% this year, Vietnam still aims for a growth rate of 7-8%.

“What is the secret to Vietnam’s economic success, and how can it sustain this growth without falling into complacency?” Mr. Brende asked Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

The head of the Vietnamese government shared that despite the evident global growth slowdown, Vietnam aims for an 8% growth rate this year and double-digit rates in the following years to achieve its goal of becoming a high-income developed country by 2045. This ambitious goal demands tremendous effort and presents a challenge in the current context, but Vietnam has the foundations to make it happen.

“It stems from our belief in our development path, a stable political system, our past economic achievements, and international support, including 17 FTAs with major markets and partners,” shared the Vietnamese leader.

According to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Vietnam has gained significant experience in facing and overcoming crises and risks in recent years. He believes that these foundations will enable Vietnam to achieve higher growth rates this year and in the years to come.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also mentioned Vietnam’s ongoing efforts to diversify its markets, products, supply chains, and production chains to adapt to changing circumstances. Vietnam is successfully maintaining a balance in relations with different partners, without becoming complacent, and always remaining calm, persistent, and steadfast, without panic or fear.

New Minimum Wage Rates Effective from July 1st

Decree No. 128/2025 of the Government, effective from July 1st, stipulates the decentralization of state management authority in the field of home affairs, including provisions on minimum wage rates.

The current regional minimum wage rates are stipulated in Decree No. 74/2024 of the Government, which sets the minimum wage for employees working under an employment contract.

Specifically, the current minimum monthly wage rates are: Region I – 4.96 million VND, Region II – 4.41 million VND, Region III – 3.86 million VND, and Region IV – 3.45 million VND.

The corresponding minimum hourly wage rates are: Region I – 23,800 VND, Region II – 21,200 VND, Region III – 18,600 VND, and Region IV – 16,600 VND.

In cases where the new wage rates are lower than the previously applied rates (before July 1st), employers shall continue to apply the minimum wage rates based on the district-level administrative units until the Government issues new regulations.

Confronting Inequities and Unfairness in Personal Income Tax

Many salaried employees find themselves in a similar situation, earning just enough to get by but still subject to personal income tax. This has come as a surprise to many, considering that in the first quarter of this year, personal income tax revenue exceeded 70 trillion VND, equivalent to nearly 39% of the annual plan and an increase of over 25% compared to the same period last year. Citizens have expressed their hopes for a comprehensive revision of the Personal Income Tax Law.

In an interview with Tien Phong newspaper, Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Tu, a lecturer at the Hanoi University of Business and Technology, emphasized that personal income tax currently contributes nearly 10% to state budget revenue, mainly from salaried employees who do not engage in business activities and cannot “avoid taxes.” In contrast, 3.6 million business households in 2024 contributed less than 26 trillion VND, or about 1.5% of the budget, including value-added tax, which is a tax levied on consumers rather than a true income tax.

“This reveals the inequity and unfairness in tax distribution among different groups. Personal income tax needs to be adjusted to reduce the unreasonable burden on salaried employees. Their specific circumstances should be considered, and tax policies should encourage them to strive and contribute. This is the right approach, both humane and effective, and it should be given special attention in the upcoming revision of the Personal Income Tax Law,” said Mr. Tu.

Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc announced that the draft Law on Personal Income Tax (amended) will be submitted to the National Assembly at its October session this year.

Surprising Bid for Sand Mining Rights in Quang Nam: From 1.8 Billion to Over 138 Billion VND

On June 25th, the People’s Committee of Duy Xuyen District and the Hoa Thuan Cooperative Auction Company organized an auction for mining rights of construction minerals at the DX6B sand mine (Phu Bong village, Duy Trinh commune, Duy Xuyen district, Quang Nam province).

After 11 rounds of bidding, Hân Hiền Hậu Trading Services Co., Ltd., located in My An village (Dai Quang commune, Dai Loc district, Quang Nam province), won the auction for mining rights at this site with a bid of over 138 billion VND, 76 times the starting price.

The winning bid amount is for the mining rights only and does not include other taxes and fees such as resource taxes, environmental protection fees, environmental restoration deposit, VAT, and corporate income tax.

With this winning bid, the value of mining rights per cubic meter of sand is over 700,000 VND.

How the Israel-Iran Conflict is Devastating Iran’s Economy

On June 13th, Israel unexpectedly launched airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, accusing Tehran of developing nuclear weapons. The continuous retaliation between the two sides has escalated the situation. On June 21st, the US officially joined, bombing three of Iran’s nuclear facilities, significantly increasing regional tensions.

Mr. Mahdi Ghodsi, an economist at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, warned, “The impact of the war will be extremely severe on Iran’s economy, especially as the country has lost its resilience after 14 years of sanctions.”

Large cities like Tehran, Tabriz, and Isfahan are witnessing an exodus of residents. Economic activities have stalled, and employment has been disrupted on a large scale. Meanwhile, the closure of the Iranian stock market reflects the depth of the instability.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Iran’s economic growth is projected to stagnate at 0.3%, compared to the expected 3.5% this year. Inflation is also rising from 32.6% to 43.3% and is expected to remain high in the coming years.

Iran’s rial plummeted following Israel’s initial airstrikes. The government has had to implement capital controls and inject foreign currency into the market to maintain temporary stability. However, the black-market exchange rate still fluctuated around 92,250 rials to the USD as of June 23rd, according to Bonbast.com.