Small traders want tax threshold to be raised above 300 million

Many small businesses and individuals said that the annual cost of premises, labor, electricity, water and raw materials exceeds 200 million VND.

Mr. Nguyen Tan Luc and his wife, who sell noodles, said the cost is quite high but they cannot increase the selling price so they can only make ends meet - Photo: Y.TR.

The economy is difficult, many people's income is not enough to cover expenses or only makes a small profit to try to live frugally, maintain business, support elderly parents and children's education...

According to the draft Law VAT Amendment: VAT taxable revenue threshold of business households and individuals will be raised to over 200 million VND, instead of 100 million VND as present.

However, many people believe that the taxable revenue threshold should be raised to over 300 million in the midst of difficult business times with all kinds of costs and little profit. Increasing the taxable revenue threshold is like "passing through a sieve", helping them have a little more money to improve their lives, hire more workers, and contribute to economic development.

Profit about 100,000 VND/day

On a sunny afternoon, while rearranging the shampoo strings hanging in an old kiosk at a small market on Tran Khac Chan Street (Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City), Mr. Nguyen Hai Minh (71 years old) said that he pays more than 200,000 VND in tax each month. He bought the stall a long time ago, and he has been attached to it for nearly 30 years.

Mr. Minh's stall is tiny, with a frontage of less than 2 meters, and inside there is only enough room for a person to stand and sell. He said the past few years have been difficult, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. "Business is slow, I only make about 100,000 VND a day, living hand to mouth," he smiled and sighed sadly.

Every day, the couple goes from their home in Go Vap district to here to set up their stall at 6am. His wife helps sell until noon and then comes home to cook for her husband and several grandchildren who live with them. In the inner city, the meager income above has to cover the cost of food, living expenses, medicine... for the elderly couple.

He said he was not familiar with taxes. business households, "if people say to close, then we will close". Having also been selling groceries for many years, Ms. Pham Ngoc Tien (45 years old, Binh Thanh district) said that her customers have decreased due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic in recent years, so people prefer to shop online and sit at home waiting for the goods to be delivered.

"Grocery sales are so slow now that I opened a sugarcane juice and roasted coffee cart to make up for lost time, but it's just enough to make ends meet. People buy everything online, and selling groceries from 6am to 10pm can only net me a revenue of over 500,000 VND. After deducting expenses, there's not much left," Ms. Tien confided.

Ms. Tien said about ten years ago, if people said opening a grocery store would make them rich, they would still believe it, but now this industry is both hard and the profits and losses are unstable.

"The tax threshold is calculated based on revenue. Now input costs and cost of goods sold have increased a lot, competition is fierce, revenue may increase but profits decrease. This level increased to 300 million is not enough to eat and raise a small child, let alone 200 million," Ms. Tien sighed.

A grocery store's main source of profit is to support the family - Photo: BE HIEU

The boss works for himself

If a few years ago, shops and restaurants often hired sales assistants and porters, now to cut costs, many owners have rolled up their sleeves and hired them out themselves.

"Please give me a bowl of noodles" - hearing the customer call, Mr. Nguyen Tan Luc (42 years old, from Quang Ngai ) hurriedly ran from the beverage counter to sell noodles. When he rested, he went back to the juice and coffee counter...

Renting a space on Chien Thang small street (Phu Nhuan district) for four years now, the couple sells coffee and soft drinks. At around 10am they start selling noodles.

It is called a restaurant but inside there are only a few tables and chairs, outside there is a noodle cart. Wiping his sweat, Mr. Luc said that before, he and his wife lived in the countryside with office jobs but their salaries were low so they came to Ho Chi Minh City to do business.

Every day, the couple manages to cover all expenses. He said: "We only make money by working, we rent this place to both sell goods and live, 12 million VND per month. Electricity and water are about 2 million VND more. Then there is the capital, raw materials for selling noodles..." He said that the daily profit is also unpredictable, one day we earn 300,000 VND is a lot.

He and his wife have two children studying in the countryside, one in 10th grade and one in 8th grade. Every month they live very frugally to send money back to the countryside to pay for their children's education and help their grandparents raise their grandchildren. They work all day and night, late at night they prepare broth, simmer bones, and early in the morning they set up their stalls to start a day of hard work, waiting for each customer during the slow season.

Although he and his wife are busy, they do not hire any helpers because of the high costs. They also do not take any days off because they try to earn at least 500,000 VND per day to cover the costs. "Only during Tet do we dare to go back to our hometown for a week. The bus tickets cost nearly 2 million VND per person...", he said.

With the goal of ensuring their two children's education, Mr. Luc and his wife are very frugal. Also the owner of a small noodle and crab noodle shop on Truong Sa Street (District 3), Mrs. Sau Phuong (50 years old) said that business is very unstable.

She registered to sell through a food ordering app to get more customers, but that didn’t work out too well. Having been selling noodles for nearly ten years, Ms. Phuong said she opens her shop every day from 6 a.m. to late afternoon.

The cost of premises, electricity, water, materials, not to mention the labor... so the profit is only enough to live frugally. There was a time when she hired hourly help in the morning but found it too costly so she stopped.

Regarding the tax rate in the draft revised VAT Law, she said that the State should consider making reasonable adjustments to the actual trading situation of business households. If the threshold of 200 million VND in revenue/year must pay tax, it will be difficult for people. small business retail, unstable revenue, sometimes loss, sometimes profit a little to make ends meet for a frugal life like hers.

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