In the first six months of 2026, Ho Chi Minh City's Tax Department recovered nearly 108,000 billion dong of tax debt and accelerated the shift from debt resolution to debt management through digitization of data and automation of the debt-management process.
Cause
The result reflects the recovery of production and business activities in the area and demonstrates the effectiveness of tax-management solutions, particularly in the management and collection of tax debt.
Development
The department has advanced the debt-management shift by digitizing data and automating processes. It intensified debt-collection efforts, reviewed debts, and addressed erroneous debts, including phantom debts, as part of a broader effort to improve efficiency in tax debt management.
Data and Statistics
- Total state budget revenue managed in the first six months of 2026: 385,236 billion dong, equal to 61.4% of the government’s target and up 31% year-on-year. Revenue from the production and business sector: 227,836 billion dong, equal to 71% of the target and up 43% year-on-year.
- As of June 30, 2026, the total tax debt under management stood at 94,788 billion dong, down 8.4% from May 31 and down 3.5% from the end of 2025. The debt-to-revenue target ratio was 15.12%.
- Tax and fee debts totaled 28,564 billion dong, down 20% from the end of May and equivalent to 4.56% of the annual revenue plan.
- Recovered 107,979 billion dong in tax debt by the end of June. Receivables from debts carried over from 2025 reached 17,411 billion dong, while debts arising in 2026 recovered 90,568 billion dong.
- There is no sufficiently strong mechanism to compel taxpayers to immediately settle debts under 90 days, while the size of this debt group has reached 8,203 billion dong, causing misappropriation risk of tax funds.
- Land-related debt remains a major pressure, totaling 47,296 billion dong and accounting for nearly half of total tax debt, with principal debt at 40,596 billion dong. Most debts arise from projects with unresolved issues in determining land prices, payable land-use charges, and other financial obligations; resolution depends on many agencies outside the tax sector, affecting collection progress.
- The lack of an electronic connectivity mechanism between tax authorities and commercial banks for enforcing seizure of funds means processing still requires manual steps and can extend time. Instances of false debt and phantom debt continue to arise as taxpayers adjust tax declarations multiple times or declare indicators and sub-items incorrectly and to the wrong agency.
Impact
The ongoing debt-management challenges highlight structural and coordination issues, including the significant share of land-related debt and the dependence on agencies outside the tax sector for resolution. While digitization and intensified collection have yielded notable recovery of tax debt, effective enforcement for short-term debts and streamlined cross-agency processes remain critical to reducing overall debt levels.
Analysis/Expert Opinion
Officials say the improvements come from digitization and stronger debt-collection actions, but debt-management still faces challenges such as the substantial land-related debt, the absence of a robust mechanism to compel immediate settlement for debts under 90 days, and gaps in electronic connectivity with banks. Addressing these issues is essential to sustaining progress in debt resolution and debt management going forward.
Source: Minh Trang
From VTV
