Hanoi (VNA) –Members of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee gave their opinions on adraft resolution regarding environmental protection taxes during their sittingon July 12 as part of the committee’s 25th meeting.

In his report on thedraft resolution, Ministry of Finance Dinh Tien Dung said that amidst thecurrent socio-economic situation, it is necessary to adjust the tax for goods thatare subjected by the Law on Environmental Protection Tax.

Under the report, the taxfor petrol will increase to its ceiling of 4,000 VND per litre from the 3,000VND per litre, while that of diesel will be 2,000 VND per litre instead of 1,500VND.

Meanwhile, the taxrate for anthracite fuel will rise to 30,000 VND per tonne, and that for plasticbags will go up by 10,000 VND per kilo to reach 50,000 VND per kilo.

Minister Dungclarified that the changes will add 0.11-10.15 percent to the average consumerprice index (CPI) in 2018. However, this escalation in the tax is hoped to encouragepeople to use energy and natural resources in a more economical and efficientmanner, while promoting the production and consumption of environmentally-friendlyproducts and contributing to raising the State budget collection by 15.18trillion VND per year.

The Governmentproposes that the resolution should become effective 45 days from the signingdate.

Chairman of the NACommittee for Finance and Budget Nguyen Duc Hai said that the committee agreeswith the purpose of the resolution and its necessity.

However, in order toensure social consensus in the issue, the committee suggests that theGovernment be more transparent about the effects it will have on the economy,the production and business of enterprises, as well as people’s livingconditions and the CPI.

At the session,representatives expressed their concerns regarding the resolution’s timing,roadmap, the target of controlling inflation, and social effect.

Concerned about the significantincrease in petrol tax, Chairman of the NA’s Committee on External Affairs NguyenVan Giau said that the rise will result in an upturn in the prices of consumergoods, affecting the society and the whole economy.

NA Chairwoman NguyenThi Kim Ngan said that the collection of 15-16 trillion VND (about 688 millionUSD) is worth a slight rise in inflation as the sum can be used forenvironmental protection.

She asked financial,tax, customs, and market management agencies to foster the check andsupervision of petrol enterprises’ business performance, in order to stabilisethe market and prices.

Due to differences inopinions, the NA leader proposed a delay in voting for the resolution until furtherdiscussions had gone underway.

Previously, the NAStanding Committee had also taken time to debate plans to allocate investmentfrom the State budget for the remainder of the 2016-2020 period, as well asplans for the distribution of capital spent on the National Target Programmefor the East Sea and Islands for the 2016-2020 period.

They also gave ideason the use of 15 trillion VND from the reserve source for the middle-term planon State budget for the 2016-2020 period towards investing in major railway andurgent road projects. -VNA