Hoàn thiện pháp luật thuế môi trường nhằm nâng cao hiệu quả thực hiện ở việt nam TT TIENG ANH

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY

DANG KIM PHUONG

IMPROVING ON THE LAW OF
ENVIRONMENTAL TAX TO ENHANCE ITS
IMPLEMENTATION EFFICIENCY IN VIETNAM
Major: Economic Law
Code: 9380107

SUMMARY OF THE PhD DISSERTATION

HANOI - 2021


The thesis is finished at:
HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY

Supervisor: Prof.Dr. Le Hong Hanh

Reviewer 1:
Reviewer 2:
Reviewer 3:

The thesis is defended at the University Council of evaluating
PhD thesis at ….. o’clock, date …

The thesis is available at:
1. National Library
2. Library of Hanoi Law University


1
INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
Economic growth has made great social progress. The growth
has increased 80% GDP per person in developping countries in 20
years. Living standards have been improved in many countries with
more than 660 million people quitting poverty and significant
recognised achievements in lots of fields such as illiteracy erasement,
education, longevity improvement, reducing the percentage of
malnutrition, the percentage of newborn death, baby death and
mother death.
However, more and more proofs have showed that our model
of growth and consumption has not been stable. Within 250 years,
the growth has always accompanied with environmental losses and
these losses have threaten the growth prospect and the social
achieved progress. If nations have kept getting stuck in the mud of
this unstable growth policy, they will have to face costly unrestored
consequences. Therefore, building the policy of developping
economic and society in regard of envrironmental stablisation is very
urgent, especially with developping countries.
Green growth is the balanced strategy between the demand of
developping economic and reducing poverty and the necessity of
avoiding the environmental losses. Among tools targeting at green
growth, environmenal tax has been mentioned as a basic one. It has
not only raised a fund for green growth, but also adjusted the

behavior of producers as well as consumers in regard of
environmental protection.
In Vietnam, environmental tax has been applied in recent
years, but its efficiency and its sphere of influence have not reached
high results. Some its legal aspects have been mentioned in some
researches, but not sufficient and comprehensive. In the Vietnamese
context of reducing tax rate of many taxes in according with their
international commitments, the environmental tax law will be the
efficient method to stabilise source of revenue for public budget.
Therefore, researching the theoritical basis of the environmental tax
law, evaluating the efficiency of the legal system of the


2
environmental tax and on this basis giving proposals to amend and
improve this legal field are a pressing demand.
Choosing the title “Improving on the law of environmental tax
to enhance its implementation efficiency in Vietnam”, the author has
hoped that the thesis has provided scientific points of view and
rational valuable proposals to form the legal system toward a goal of
environmental protection through applying economic tools in general
and tax tool in particular.
2. Aim and tasks
The aim of the thesis has been to analyse and deepen
theoritical issues of environmental tax and the environmental tax
law; assess the real situation of this legal field in Vietnam; propose
solutions improving the environmental tax law in order to enhance its
implementation efficiency in Vietnam.
For reaching the above aim, in the process of researching the
title, there have been following tasks:

- Identifying and analysing economic legal aspects of
environmental tax tool.
- Researching different schools of thoughts and theories to
building the theoritical basis of the environmental law.
- Researching and assessing the efficiency of the current
provisions that is related to environmental tax on the basis of the
built theory.
- Researching and consulting principles, mode and method of
building the environmental law of other nations, especially the
approach to deal with tax question.
- On the basis of the above researches, identifying demands
and solutions to improve on the environmental tax law toward a goal
of enhancing its implementation efficiency in Vietnam.
3. Objects and scale of the study
On the basis of the above aim and tasks, the objects of the
thesis have been the relations of the environmental tax law and the
other relations that has been related to enhance the implementation
efficiency of the environmental tax, considering both sides: (i) the
real situation of the environmental tax law in regard of meeting the
demand of the sustainable economic development and in regard of


3
theoritical points of view of the improvement of the legal system; (ii)
the reality of implementing the environmental law.
The scale of the thesis has been the regulations of the
environmental tax and the other regulations relating to enhancing its
implementation efficiency, including guidances of adminitrative
bodies and the environmental tax law of other choosen nations based
on the similarity and the representation.

4. Methodology and methods of the study
The research of the thesis has based on the methodology of the
Marx – Leninism and the Ho Chi Minh thought of state and law.
Besides them, the author has also used popular methods in
researching law such as: comparative method, analytic method,
summarisation method and commentation method.
5. New research findings
The result of researching the thesis has contributed to the new
following findings:
First, the thesis has analysed and deepened fundamental
theoretical issues of environmental tax and the law of environmental
tax such as the concept and characteristics of of environmental tax,
principles and structure of the environmental tax law and factors
affecting the law in this regard.
Second, the thesis has developed criteria for evaluating the
implementation efficiency of the law of environmental tax including
the criterion of environmental protection, the criterion of economic
efficiency, the criterion of simplicity, the criterion of relative
stability and the criterion of social equality. Besides it, the thesis has
also identified criteria for measuring the level of improvement of the
law in this regard.
Third, on the basis of the criteria for evaluating the
implementation efficiency of the environmental tax law, the thesis
has combined the analytical method, the comparative law method
and method of data collection to assess the real situation of the
environmental tax law of Vietnam. Besides its advantages, the
shortcomings of the environmental tax law of Vietnam still remain
such as: i) Taxable objects are still limited; the competence to define

4
taxable objects of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly
has not been provided in accordance with the 2013 Constitution;
many provisions on taxable objects and subjects to pay
environmental tax are not consistent with the law on pesticides, Law
on mineral resources, Law on water resources, etc. ii) Provisions on
bases of environmental tax are not consistent with general
international practice; environmental protection tax rates applied for
plastic bags, coal, pesticides are not reasonable; excise taxes have not
succeeded in guiding consumers, etc. iii) Provisions on
administrative procedures for environmental tax have not achieved
positive results in terms of environmental protection; the cost of tax
administration has remained very high; and the law on tax
management has not met the requirement of being stable. iv)
Provisions on supervising and ensuring the compliance with the law
on environmental tax have not been strictly implemented and there is
no provision on the mechanism to coordinate tax agencies and
related ones in managing the collection of environmental tax and
severance tax.
Fourth, on the basis of analysing requirements for improving
on the law of environmental tax of Vietnam, the thesis has proposed
solutions to deal with the shortcomings of the law in this regard
toward the goal of promoting the wide application of tax instruments
for environmental protection in Vietnam.
6. Scientific and practical meanings
The thesis is a specific work of building the theoritical basic of
the environmental tax law, of evaluating relative comprehensively
the real situation of the environmental tax law in Vietnam with the
demand of improving its implementation efficiency. Therefore, the
thesis contributes to the legal knowledge of the environmental tax

law.
The researching results of the thesis can be applied in practice.
First, the thesis has proposed the scientific solutions which have
contributed to improving the environmental tax law in Vietnam.
Second, the thesis has contributed to the system of the legal science
so that tax agencies, tax payers and others have applied the
environmental tax law in a efficient way.


5
OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
1. Published researches relating to the title of the thesis
Environmental tax was first applied in OECD in the early 90s
of the XX century, there have been lots of researches in this regard in
different aspects including domestic ones and foreign ones. The title
“Improving on the environmental tax law to enhance its
implementation efficiency in Vietnam” has inherited these results and
continued to develop in new directions.
1.1. Theoritical researched results on the environmental tax
law
1.2. Researched results on the real situation of the
environmental tax law and the solutions improving it in Vietnam
1.3. Assessing researched issues on the basis of the thesis’
aim
Though researching the published projects, there has been
some following conclusions:
First, some project results have been inherited and continued
to develop in the thesis, however, there has not been any project
researching on environmental tax comprehensively in the regard of
legal science.

Second, the theory of the environmental tax and the law in this
regard have not been researched comprehensively and totally, but
leaned toward economics, or toward some theoritical aspects, or
covered with the theory of the law of applying economic tools in
environmental protection.
Third, some theories of the environmental tax and the law in
this regard have not been researched thoroughly such as: the nature
of the environmental tax, the object, the scope and the principles of
this legal field.
Fourth, the real situation of the environmental tax law in
Vietnam has not been assessed thoroughly. Many projects have only
described, interpreted or listed regulations, but not analysed their
efficiency thoroughly.


6
Fifth, many projects have mentioned the experience of other
nations of building and implementing the environmental tax law, but
some questions have not been researched yet, such as what lessons
could be applied in Vietnam, to what extent it could be applied and
the process of applying it.
Sixth, solutions for improving on the environmental tax law
have not been researched systematically and some of them have been
diffcult to be feasible.
2. Orientation of researching thesis
2.1. Research questions and hypotheses
With the title “Improving on the environmental tax law to
enhance its implementation efficiency in Vietnam”, the author has
mentioned following research questions and hypotheses:
- The 1st question: What is the environmental tax?

The 1st hypothesis: The environmental tax includes taxes
relating to environmetal protection.
The 2nd hypothesis: The environmental tax includes taxes
which have taxable base relating to the environment directly and
have the main aim of the environmental protection.
Expectational result: This question has been expected to be
solved in the Chapter 1 of the thesis. The Chapter 1 has analysed
definition, characteristics and role of environmental tax and
interpreted which taxes have been classified as environmental tax.
- The 2nd question: Is the tax of environmental protection
which is regulated in the Law on the tax of environmental protection
2010 understood like environmental tax (or green tax) in other
nations?
The 1st hypothesis: The tax of environmental protection which
is regulated in the Law on the tax of environmental protection 2010
is understood like environmental tax (or green tax) in other nations
The 2nd hypothesis: The tax of environmental protection which
is regulated in the Law on the tax of environmental protection 2010
has had so narrower than the law on environmental tax in other
countries.
Expectational result: This question has been expected to be
solved in the Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 of the thesis. Chapter 1 has


7
provided the theoritical basis of the environmental tax law, Chapter 2
has evaluated the detail advantages and disadvantages of the law in
this regard in Vietnam on the basis of the comparison with this field
of law in other nations.
- The 3rd question: In order to enhance the implementation

efficiency of the environmental tax law, which solution is the
urgentest in the current period?
The 1st hypothesis: Solving the shortcomings of the
environmental tax law is the solution that is necessary to carry out
right away.
The 2nd hypothesis: Which solution is necessary to gain the
efficiency depends on the different class of the environmental tax.
Expectational result: This question has been expected to be
solved in the Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 of the thesis. On the basis of
assessing the real situation of the environmental tax law of Vietnam
in Chapter 2, Chapter 3 has analysed the demands and the solutions
improving on this legal field to enhance its implementation
efficiency.
2.2. Detail proposals of research
On the basis of the assessment of the above publishments
related to the thesis and the above hypotheses, detail proposals of
research are given as follows:
First, researching theoritical points of view of environmental
tax and of the law in this regard.
Second, researching the theoritical issues of the
implementation efficiency of environmental tax law, the criteria and
the indexes of evaluating the law in this regard.
Third, assessing the implementation efficiency of the
environmental current tax law in Vietnam, in particular: assessing the
regulations on the taxable objects, the taxable subjects, the taxable
base, the tax management and the social – economic impacts of
environmental tax.
Fourth, researching the scientific solutions contributed to
improve the environmental tax law in Vietnam, in particular:
identifying the basic demands of the improvement on the

environmental tax law, building the detail solutions to overcome its
shortcomings and enhance its implementation efficiency in Vietnam.


8
2.3. Theoritical bases
The thesis is based on the following theories:
- Theory of sustainable development.
- Theory of green growth.
- Theories of tax.
- Theory of correspondence between law and real life as a
symbol of relation between infrastructure and superstructure.
- Theory of law and economics.
2.4. Main content
Besides the introduction, the conclusion and the overview, the
main content of the thesis consists of 3 chapters which will be
presented as follows.
Chapter 1: THEORITICAL BASIS TO IMPROVE ON
THE ENVIRONMENTAL TAX LAW IN ORDER TO
ENHANCE ITS IMPLEMENTATION EFFICIENCY
1.1. Theoritical issues of environmental tax
1.1.1. Development of environmental tax
The environmental tax started to come out into society because
of the environmentalism in the 18th , 19th century and the
environmental protection as the tool of preventing and improving
social disasters. Arthur C. Pigou (1877 – 1959) had influence on the
idea of developping the environmental tax which attached to the
economics of social welfare, so this tax has been also called the
Pigouvian tax.
1.1.2. Definition of environmental tax

The term environmental tax has been called ecological tax or
green tax by many documents. This term has been approached from
much different angles and there has not been the only exact
definition of environmental tax. Within the thesis, environmental tax
(or ecological tax, or green tax) has included taxes that have had
taxable base relating to environment directly and had main aim of
environmental protection.
With this approach, in the tax system of Vietnam, taxes which
have classified as environmental tax have included: the tax of natural
resources regulated by the Law on the tax of natural resources 2010,
the tax of environmental protection regulated by the Law on the tax


9
of environmental protection 2010 and the excise tax regulated by the
Law on excise tax 2008.
1.1.3. Characteristics of environmental tax
The environmental tax has had natural common characteristics
of tax such as: a monetary contribution, a compulsory direct
unreturnable contribution, its aim of meeting the public expenditure
demand. Besides, the environmental tax has had specific
characteristics like its name, the first one has been its aim of
environmental protection.
Second, environmental taxable objects have been services and
goods causing environmental pollution, or an act of discarding toxic
substances into the environment, or an act of exploiting natural
resources that has influenced the environment.
Third, the environmental tax could have been direct tax or
indirect tax depending on the will of law makers.
Fourth, to some specific environmental taxes, determining tax

level has required professional standard in the environment and the
aid of the modern technical means.
Fifth, the environmental tax has had high diversiform and
depending on the national charisteristics of economic, politics,
culture, society, each nation has built a specific system of
environmental tax.
1.1.4. Classification of environmental tax
Based on the taxable field, the environmental tax has been
classified as energy tax, transportation tax and natural resource tax.
Based on the pollution object, the environmental tax has
included tax of pollution sources, tax of pollution products and tax of
consumers using pollution products.
1.1.5. Positive effects of environmental tax
First, the environmental tax has contributed to strengthening
public responsibility and awareness of environmental protection.
Second, the environmental tax has had effects on incentives of


10
improving and innovating technologies in the regard of
environmental protection. Third, the environmental tax has
contributed to increasing public budget.
1.2. Principles, structure and factors affecting
environmental tax law
1.2.1. Principles of environmental tax law
The environmental tax law is a part of the tax law system, so it
needs to comply with the basic principles of the tax law. Besides, the
environmental tax law needs to ensure special following principles:
principle of sustainable development and polluter pay principle.
1.2.1.1. Principle of sustainable development

For practising the principle of sustainable development, the
environmental tax law needs to meet following demands:
- The design of the environmental tax needs to be reasonable
so that it becomes the tool adjusting polluters’ behavior in regard of
reducing or restricting negative impacts on the environment.
- The wealth distribution and redistribution impact of the
environmental tax are especially important.
- Harmonising the demand of economic development and
environmental protection is an important requirement with the
environmental tax policy.
1.2.1.2. Polluter pay principle (PPP)
To ensure the polluter pay principle, the environmental tax law
needs to include following contents:
- The level of the environmental tax to each of polluted
products has to reflect its level impacting on the environment, it
means that the tax level has to compensate for social costs to recover
environmental damages of these polluted products.
- The scale of the taxable environmental objects needs to
enlarge as much as possible to cover polluted objects.
- The real taxable subjects have to be the ones that do negative
impacts on the environment.
1.2.2. Structure of environmental tax law
1.2.2.1. Regulations on content of the environmental tax law


11
- Regulations on environmental taxable objects
The environmental taxable objects have been polluted services
and goods or negative behavior on the environment. Depending on
the ability of the tax management of each nation, the environmental

tax law of that nation would have regulated the taxable object large
or narrow.
- Regulations on environmental taxable subjects
The tax law of nations has often regulated the taxable subjects
who have been organiser, individual producing, trading taxable
objects or subjects having negative behavior on the environment.
- Regulations on grounds for environmental tax payment
The grounds for environmental tax payment show causes of
negative impact on the environment which it has tended to limit
happenning.
1.2.2.2. Regulations on environmental tax management
- Regulations on the administrative procedure of the
environmental tax include: registration, listing, charging, paying, tax
definition, tax exemption, tax reduction, tax collection, tax refund,
tax erasement, etc.
– Regulations on the supervision on and ensuring of the
environmental tax law include: managing information of tax payers,
tax inspection, tax assessment and dealing with breach of tax law, tax
complaint, denouncement, solving disputes that arise from tax
management.
1.2.3. Factors impacting on environmental tax law
The law in the developping process depends on much different
factors. It is very difficult to consider all factors governing the
environmental tax law because of their diversity and reciprocal
impacts. However, from the most general point of view, there are
some main factors impacting on the environmental tax law,
including: policy and line of social – economic development of
governing party; social – economic condition of country and context
of international integration; tax managing system and interest
relationship between the State and tax payers; interaction of legal

parts; legal executive ability of tax payers.


12
1.3. Theories of efficiency of environmental tax law
1.3.1. Overview of efficiency of environmental tax law
The efficiency of the environmental tax law is its impacting
result in the correlation of its expenditure. The impacting result of
the environmental tax law can be positive, or negative, or no
considerable impacts. Evaluating the legal efficiency in general and
evaluating the efficiency of the environmental tax law in particular
include the content of evaluating the efficiency of the legal
implementation. The legal implementation is one of important
conditions ensuring the legal efficiency.
1.3.2. Criteria for evaluating efficiency of environmental tax
law
1.3.2.1. Criterion of environmental protection
This criterion can be measured via data: percentage of quantity
of taxable proceduced objects comparing with the time before
promulgating environmental tax; percentage of polluted air, waste
comparing with the time before promulgating environmental tax;
changes in economic structure (percentage of industries using much
fossil fuel comparing with industries using clean, renewable energy).
1.3.2.2. Criteria of economic efficiency
- Criterion of balancing benefits of government and tax payers
For this criterion, the relation between the government and tax
payers need to be comprehended as the relation between the
government and citizens in the field of the environmental tax. The
indexes identifying the situation of balancing their benefits include:
percentage between environmental tax revenue and GDP; impacts of

environmental tax on industries’ competitive capacity; impacts of
environmental tax on percentage of working people; impacts of
environmental tax on structure of national economy (investment
index of green technology, …).
- Neutral criterion and criterion of balancing economic
benefits for different types of subjects
The neutrality of the tax is not to include social policies in tax.
Ensuring the tax’s neutrality will make the tax law be simplier,
decline administrative tax cost and create stable revenue for public
budget.
- Percentage of administrative cost and tax revenue


13
The administrative tax cost is the expenditure of the public
budget for administrative departments, including direct and indirect
expenditures related to organisation and operation of entire tax
departments, custom departments and other ones.
- Cost of tax payers to comply with environmental tax law
This cost can be measured by indexes of time, money which
tax payers have to spend in order to learn about law and do processes
according to the regulations of the environmental tax law.
- Level of compliance (percentage of real revenue and
potential tax)
Level of compliance = (real revenue: potential tax) x 100%.
Potential tax of a nation reflects ability of encouraging social welfare
in its public budget.
1.3.2.3. Criteria of simplicity
Evaluating the simplicity of the environmental tax law not
only considers words and sentences in regulations, but also evaluates

the legal system regulated this field.
1.3.2.4. Criteria of relative stability and potential forecast
Relative stability and potential forecast are important criteria
to evaluate the efficiency of the environmental tax law because
entrepreneurs always consider tax law (in general) as business law
that they need to count when building their development strategy.
Moreover, these criteria also ensure taxpayers’ legitimate rights and
are a factor to measure attractive level of investment environment in
each country.
1.3.2.5. Criterion of social equity
According to international experience, parameters measuring
social impacts of environmental tax include: impact of environmental
tax on consumer price index, income distribution and income level of
household. In general, about social equity, impact of environment tax
depends largely on use of tax revenue through mechanism of revenue
exchange or sponsoring people who endure this tax.
1.4. Criteria of assessing perfection level of environmental
tax law


14
Determining criteria of improving environmental tax law to
have scientific basic for this task is necessary because they are
standards, meters, qualities or signs to recognise and evaluate
perfection level of environmental tax law. In respect of theory,
criteria for measuring perfection level of this legal field include:
comprehensiveness, unification and synchronicity, correspondence
and feasibility, finally legislative technology.
Conclusion of Chapter 1
Chapter

2:
EVALUATING
SITUATION
OF
ENVIRONMENTAL TAX LAW IN VIETNAM WITH THE
DEMAND OF IMPROVING PRACTICAL EFFICIENCY
2.1. Evaluating legal regulations of environmental tax
policy with the demand of improving practical efficiency
2.1.1. Evaluating legal regulations of environmental taxable
objects and taxpayers
2.1.1.1. Taxable objects and taxpayers according to the Law of
environmental protection tax
The subject – coverage of the environmental protection tax of
Vietnam is still narrow regarding criterion of environmental
protection.
The competence of the National Assembly Standing
Committee in complementing taxable objects and determining
specific tax rate to each goods is not consistent with the 2013
Constitution of the competence of the National Assembly and the
National Assembly Standing Committee regarding criterion of
simplicity and relative stability.
Regulations on taxable objects in the Law of environmental
protection tax are not sufficient and do not embrace real
circumtances regarding criterion of equity.
2.1.1.2. Taxable objects and taxpayers according to the Law of
natural resources
The competence of the National Assembly Standing
Committee in complementing taxable objects of the natural resource
Law and listing which natural resource belonging to taxable object

15
lead to the same shortcomings that have analysed at point 2.1.1.1
with regard to the criterion of simplicity. Regulation at Point c Item 2
Article 3 is not reasonable and facilitates unauthorized exploration of
natural resources. Regulation of name of natural water is not united
in the Law of natural resources.
Regulations of taxable objects according to the above listing
method result in both redundancy and deficiency, lessening the
transparency of the Law, thence making lack of equity of natural
resources and risking them exhausted exploitation with regard of
criterion of environmental protection and criterion of economic
efficiency.
2.1.1.3. Taxable objects and taxpayers according to the Law of
special consumption tax (or excise tax)
Putting special consumption tax on harmful goods and
services to environment and human health accords with reality and
international normal practice, contributes to form social healthy and
equitable consumer trend, encourages producing and consuming
goods that suit country’s economic situation in recent period of time
with regard to the criterion of environmental protection. Apart from
these advantages, the law of special consumption taxable objects
remains following shortcomings: taxing cars that base on criterion of
number of seat is unreasonable; diesel, light gas and flight fuel do
not list in taxable objects; petrol is taxed with the same excise tax
rate, not distinguishing its octan index or sulphur content.
The current Law of excise tax does not regulate taxable
objects which are naptha, condensate, reformade component and
other component making up gasoline in order to simplify
administrative procedure and reduce administrative expenditure of

both entrepreneurs and tax agency with regard to the criterion of
economic efficiency. Putting excise tax on votive objects and votive
papers is a positive solution in order to contribute to reduce
consuming these goods.
2.1.2. Evaluating regulations on grounds for environmental
tax payment


16
2.1.2.1. Grounds for tax payment according to the Law of
environmental protection tax
Regulation on flat rate of environmental protection tax is to
ensure executing its essential following objective: changing
productive and consumption behaviors, reducing harmful impact to
the environment, simply and transparently practice, public budget
revenue not depending on fluctuation of goods price with regard to
the criterion of environmental protection. Apart from these
advantages, regulation on the grounds for tax payment according to
the current environmental protection tax Law remains following
limitations: the environmental tax rate frame is unreasonable and
does not have distinction between different goods about their
pollution level.
The Law of environmental protection tax regulating grounds
for tax payment does not reach high efficiency in regard to economic
efficiency. Plastic bags, pesticides belonging to limited use group
and HCFC increase number of consumption, but their tax revenues
decrease or not colleting any taxes.
2.1.2.2. Grounds for tax payment according to the Law of
natural resources
Although law makers have made much effort, the changeable

unforeseen situation of the Law of natural resourses still remains; the
compatibleness between the natural resourse Law and other laws is
still weak with regard to the criterion of simplicity and the criterion
of relative stablisation.
Regulations on grounds for natural resourse tax payment do
not encourage to deeply process minerals and decrease nation’s
natural resource value with regard to the criterion of environmental
protection and the criterion of economic efficiency.
Ensuring equity between the State, entrepreneurs and local
communities where exploit minerals, deeply ensuring equity between
current generations and future ones in exploiting and using natural
treasure are not resolved well.


17
2.1.2.3. Grounds for tax payment according to the Law of
special consumption tax
Special consumption tax rate of tobaco is so low that it can not
limit buying power of this goods, thence leading negative impact to
human’s health and causing environmental pollution with regard to
the criterion of environmental protection.
Current regulations on grounds for tax payment according to
the Law of special consumption tax are not consistent with
international general rules and do not gain high economic efficiency.
2.2. Evaluating regulations on environmental tax
management with the demand of improving practical efficiency
2.2.1. Evaluating environmental tax regulations on
administrative procedure
The law of environmental tax management does not gain high
efficiency of reducing environmental polluted products, does not

create positive clearly impacts on people’s environmental protection
consciousness, Vietnam’s green house gas continues to increase
every year, efficiency of using energy is low in regard to the criterion
of environmental protection.
The current law of tax management contributes to promoting
application of information technology to this task, helping reduction
of State and people’s expenditure in regard to the criterion of
economic efficiency. Apart from the above positive results, one of
the largest shortcomings of tax management is very low ability of
forcasting potential tax revenue exactly. Vietnam’s expenditure of
tax management and legal obedience are more expensive than other
regional countries and international ones.
It can be said that tax management has the bulkiest and most
complicated legal document system, they are also modified, added or
replaced regularly with regard to the criterion of simplicity and
relative stabilisation.
2.2.2. Evaluating regulations on supervision on and
ensuring implementation of environmental tax law


18
Regulations on ensuring implementation of environmental tax
law remain inadequacies in practice so that they do not give positive
impact on environmental protection.
The environmental tax law has gained some positive results in
regulating supervision on and ensuring legal obedience in regard to
the criterion of economic efficiency. However, inspection and
examination of legal tax offence do not reach high efficiency in
practice.
Tax payers are not of equal implementation of environmental

tax law with regard to the criterion of social equity.
Conclusion of chapter 2
Chapter 3: SOME DEMANDS AND SOLUTIONS OF
IMPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL TAX LAW TO ENHANCE
ITS PRACTICAL EFFICIENCY IN VIETNAM
3.1. Demands of improving environmental tax law in
Vietnam
3.1.1. Institutionalising opinion, guideline and policies in
sustainable development of Party and State
3.1.2. Ensuring efficiency and unification of environmental
tax law and other tax law
3.1.3. Meeting Vietnam’s international
environmental protection via using economic tools

treaties

of

3.2. Some solutions contributing to improve environmental
tax law in order to enhance its practical efficiency in Vietnam
3.2.1. Some solutions improving environmental tax law of its
content
3.2.1.1. Taxable object and tax payer according to the Law of
environmental protection tax
First, it is necessary to research on checking and adding
taxable environmental protection object, especially those goods are
taxable environmental objects according to international general
rules such as: chemical fertilizer, cigarette, coal gas and natural gas.

19
Second, it is necessary to modify and complement regulation
at item 3 Article 3 of the environmental protection tax law to clearly
specify that HCFC produced or imported as a mixture belongs to
taxable object.
Third, it is necessary to remove regulation at Item 9 Article 3
of the Law of environmental protection tax 2010.
3.2.1.2. Taxable objects and tax payers according to the Law
of natural resource tax
First, it is necessary to remove regulation at Item 9 Article 2
of the Law of natural resources tax 2009.
Second, it is necessary to unify name of natural water at
Article 2, Item 5 Article 5 and Article 8 of the Law of natural
resources tax 2009.
Third, it is necessary to research and add some natural
resources of high economic value to taxable object such as: red coral,
columned-shape basalt rocks used as high-grade building rocks.
Fourth, Point c Item 2 Article 3 of the natural resources tax
Law needs to add phrase “licensed exploitation” before paragraph
“small odd exploitation”.
3.2.1.3. Taxable objects and taxpayers according to the Law of
special consumption tax
First, taxing special consumption tax on cars should depend
on criterion of their level of consuming fuel. It should be considered
to remove regulation of taxing on electric cars and bio-fuel cars.
Second, it is necessary to add diezel and light gas fuel to
taxable special consumption object. For petrol, it is necessary to
distinguish its taxable line according to its sulphuric lever (or octan
index).
3.2.1.4. Grounds for tax payment according to the Law of

environmental protection tax
First, environmental protection tax rate should be absolute
according to each kind of goods, not maximum and minimum rate.


20
Second, regulation on taxable rate of petrol and oil should
depend on their sulphuric level to correspond with both pollution
level of each goods and international general rules.
Third, it is necessary to consider increasing taxable rate of
coal.
Fourth, for fertilisers, it is necessary to remove the phrase
“belonging to limited use group” at Item 5, 6, 7, 8 Article 3
environmental protection tax Law 2010. Taxable object “herbicide”
regulated at Item 5 Article 3 environmental protection tax Law needs
to be replaced by the phrase “weedkiller” to ensure legal unification.
Taxable rate of each fertiliser needs to be determined by its negative
impacts on environment and human health.
Fifth, environmental protection taxing mode of plastic bags
should base on their numbers because its effect of environmental
protection is better. It is necessary to increase tax rate of plastic bags
because the current rate is inefficient, inconsistent with their impact
on environmental pollution level. In long period, it should be
restricted to produce environmental unamiable plastic bags.
3.2.1.5. Grounds for tax payment according to Law of natural
resources
First, it is necessary to overcome instable (relative) situation
and weak forecast ability of natural resources law.
Second, it is necessary to amend Point a and Point c Item 6
Article 6 of natural resources law.

Third, it is necessary to exclude expenditure of production,
manufacture and export from taxing price for natural exploited
resources which have not been sold yet until they are produced and
manufactured into new product of natural resources.
Fourth, determining natural resources tax rate for minerals
needs to be balanced on summarizing all revenues collecting from
these products.
Fifth, Vietnam should consider forming natural resources fund
in order to efficiently manage revenues of exploiting minerals, limit
shocks of market fluctuation and create financial resources for future
generations and go to sustainable development.


21
3.2.1.6. Grounds for tax payment according to Law of special
consumption
First, it is necessary to increase special consumption tax rate
of cigarettes to ensure that percentage between their tax and retail
price is minimum 65% according to WB and WHO recommendation
and international general trend.
Second, it is necessary to consider applying absolute tax rate.
With some goods, it is necessary to apply both relative tax rate and
asolute one in order to improve efficiency of consumption guidance.
3.2.2. Some solutions for improving law of managing
environmental tax
3.2.2.1. Environmental tax law in regard to administrative
procedure
First, it is necessary to strengthen collecting environmental
protection tax with plastic bags, insecticides and HCFC.
Second, it can be to step up reducing GHG in all field

including land use, changing land use, forestry, agriculture, waste
and industry, especially fuel production and consumption.
Third, three main steps to ameliorate ability of forecasting
potential tax revenue in Vietnam include: consolidating data basis
with tax revenue and economic ones; training officials of Forecasting
Tax Revenue Department; and building real forecasting model.
Fourth, it is necessary to research advanced tax management
mode of other nations in the world to reduce expenditure of tax
management. Decision number 13/2006/QĐ-TTg should be
considered to amend.
Fifth, it is necessary to focus on implementing some tasks and
solutions of building and improving institution and arranging legal
implementation in order to reduce expenditure of legal compliance.
Sixth, law of tax management needs to be strengthened its
stabilization and obiviousness, to be ameliorated situation of legal
changing regularly documents.
3.2.2.2. Regulations on supervision and ensuring
implementation of environmental tax law
First, it is necessary to complement concrete regulations on
co-ordinative mechanism between tax department and one of


22
environment and resources in regard with defining taxable resources
output.
Second, it is necessary to complement concrete co-ordinative
mechanism between main office and related offices to define their
co-ordinative presiding responsibility and mode in regard with
management of resources tax in particular and management of
resources exploitation in general.

Third, it is necessary to research legal and financial
mechanism in order to strengthen applying modern technology in
supervising and defining exploited resources output.
Fourth, it is necessary to strengthen role of local authorities in
regard with management of resources exploitation via determining
responsibility of leader’s these institutions.
Fifth, Vietnam needs to consider participating in Extractive
Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
Conclusion of Chapter 3
CONCLUSION OF DISSERTATION
Through the study of improving environmental tax law to
enhance its practical efficiency in Vietnam, there are some main
conclusions as follows:
First, building theoritical foundation of improving
environmental tax law has very important meaning and is basis to
evaluate efficiency of this legal field, thence propose feasible
solutions in order to enhance its practical efficiency. The Dissertation
has built criteria of evaluating efficiency of environmental tax law as
well as criteria of determining perfection level of this legal field.
They are meters and standards to analyze and evaluate current
situation of the law of environmental tax.
Second, beside positive results the environmental tax law of
Vietnam remains following shortcomings: i) The subject-coverage of
environmental tax law is still narrow; The competence of the
National Assembly Standing Committee in determining taxable
objects is not consistent with the 2013 Constitution; Many
regulations on taxable objects, payers of environmental tax are


23

inconsistent with provisions in specific legal areas, etc. ii)
Regulations on grounds for environmental tax payment are not
consistent with the international rules and practices; The
environmental tax rates applicable to plastic bags, coal and pesticides
are not reasonable; The method application of special consumption
tax on products and goods potentially causing environmental
pollution is ineffective, especially in the orientation of consumption
needs, etc. iii) Administrative procedures regarding environmental
tax have not achieved positive results in environmental protection;
Costs of tax administration are very high; The stability of
environment tax law is not yet reachable. iv) The supervision on and
ensuring of implementation of environmental tax law are not been
strictly implemented; lacking of coordination mechanism between
tax authorities and relevant agencies in the management and
collection of environmental tax.
Third, from the evaluation of the current situation, the
Dissertation determines solutions of improving environmental tax
law on the bases of ensuring institutionlizing Communist Vietnamese
Party’s opinions, guidelines and policies about management of
natural resources, environmental protection, restructuring
government budget, building secure and stable national finance,
meeting demand of international integration.
The study result of the Dissertation has showed that realising
right nature and role of environmental tax, exactly determining
criteria of efficiency of environmental tax law are important bases in
order to evaluate real situation of this legal field, thence proposing
solutions of improving it and contributing to nation’s sustainable
development.