Hanoi (VNA) – The year 2025 marked a period of strong transformation for Vietnam’s tax sector, as it accelerated the restructuring of its organisational apparatus towards a streamlined, efficient, and effective model. The achievements recorded during the year have contributed significantly to securing State budget revenue and promoting sustainable socio-economic development, laying a firm foundation for the sector to enter a new era of the nation’s rise.
Ten major events and highlights in 2025 reflected the sector’s determination to build a modern, professional and transparent public finance system.
Streamlining organisational apparatus
Implementing the Party and State’s guidelines under the close direction of the Ministry of Finance, the tax sector in 2025 reorganised its system in line with a unified roadmap, ensuring coherence with the two-tier local administration model.
The organisational structure was streamlined to 12 units at the central level, 34 provincial and municipal tax departments with 340 divisions, and 350 grassroots tax sub-departments.
A key reform was the shift from “function-based management” to “taxpayer-based management”, ensuring comprehensive oversight of specific taxpayer groups and linking management responsibility with service provision.
State budget revenue surpasses 88.8 million USD
Total State budget revenue managed by the tax sector in 2025 reached a record 2.3 quadrillion VND (88.8 million USD) mark for the first time. The figure represented 135% of the estimate assigned by the National Assembly and a year-on-year increase of 32.5%.
The outcome reflected sustained efforts by tax authorities at all levels to nurture revenue sources while supporting enterprises in overcoming difficulties and expanding production and business activities.
Improving legal framework for tax administration
Institutional reform was identified as a key breakthrough. Implementing Politburo Resolution No. 66-NQ/TW, the sector completed a large volume of legal normative documents.
Notably, the 15th National Assembly passed the Law on Tax Administration at its 10th session with a high approval rate, creating a transparent and modern legal framework for tax governance.
The sector also gave advice on the issuance of nine decrees and four circulars. Among them, Decree No. 236/2025/ND-CP on supplementary corporate income tax in line with global anti-base erosion rules helped bring Vietnam’s tax policies closer to international standards.
Accelerating digital transformation
Last year, the tax sector was honoured as an outstanding State agency in digital transformation at the Vietnam Digital Awards 2025. It upgraded its information technology systems, officially adopted personal identification numbers in place of tax codes, and launched an experiential portal for household businesses transitioning to a new management model.
A notable milestone was the rollout of an automated personal income tax refund system in April. By year-end, more than 900,000 taxpayers had submitted finalisation declarations, with over 93% of eligible dossiers processed automatically.
Celebrating 80 years of development
The year 2025 marked the 80th anniversary of the tax sector’s development alongside the nation. At a commemorative ceremony, the sector was awarded the first-class Labour Order by the State President in recognition of the contributions made by generations of officials and civil servants.
Over the decades, tax revenue has risen sharply from 5.2 trillion VND in 1990 to more than 2.3 quadrillion VND in 2025, underscoring its growing role as a pillar of the State budget.
Abolishing lump-sum tax regime
In line with Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW, the sector implemented a roadmap to abolish the lump-sum tax regime for household businesses, shifting towards a declaration-based model. The reform aims to modernise tax administration, ensure fairness among economic sectors, and support transparent private sector development.
The transition also enables household businesses to gradually adopt modern governance standards.
Strengthening tax management
Amid the rapid expansion of the digital economy, the tax sector enhanced oversight of e-commerce activities. In 2025, revenue from e-commerce was estimated at 208.8 trillion VND, up 66.5% year-on-year.
Comprehensive solutions were introduced, including institutional improvements and specialised IT tools such as a registration portal for foreign suppliers and e-commerce platforms. Management of high-income individuals, including KOLs, KOCs, and livestream sellers on social media platforms, was also strengthened.
Unifying tax codes with personal IDs
Under the Government’s Project 06, the sector completed the use of personal identification numbers as tax codes nationwide. The reform simplified administrative procedures, reduced paperwork, improved data accuracy, and prevented duplication and revenue losses.
Simplifying administrative procedures
Administrative reform remained a priority for the tax sector. In 2025, the sector reviewed and proposed cutting 100 administrative procedures and simplifying 62 others.
From July, electronic surveys were conducted via the administrative procedure settlement system to measure taxpayer satisfaction. By the end of December, the overall satisfaction rate had reached 92.2%, exceeding targets set in the tax reform strategy.
Enhancing international cooperation
During the 2021–2025 period, especially in 2025, international cooperation became a key pillar of modernisation. The tax sector actively signed and implemented multilateral and bilateral agreements, facilitating the management of multinational corporations and combating cross-border tax evasion.
By aligning with international practices, the sector safeguarded Vietnam’s taxing rights while contributing to a transparent and attractive investment environment, reinforcing its position in the global tax governance landscape./.
