MoF Considering Lowering Tax On Milk Imports
VIET NAM - Truong Chi Trung, Deputy Minister of Finance, said that the ministry would release decisions on lowering import tax rates on several kinds of materials and finished products, including dairy products, in an effort to raise the supplies on the market and curb price increases.
3 August 2007
1 minute read
Mr Trung said that the main reason behind the sharp price increases in the last time was the higher price of input materials. Therefore, lowering the tax rates on several key products is the solution being considered.
Experts also said that the milk price increases in the last time have had bad impacts on society, and lowering taxes was the only solution to the problem.
A question has been raised in this case: will the tax reduction on milk materials discourage local production?
According to Tran Bao Minh, Deputy Director of Vinamilk, under the WTO commitments, the tax rates on material imports remain relatively high, at 20-30%, which could be seen as an effective tool to protect dairy farmers. However, in fact, local milk output is mainly being used to make water-based products, while companies still have to use imports to make other products.
“Local farmers will ‘live comfortably’ even if the government lowers the import tax on powdered material milk,” said Mr Minh.
Source: VietNamNet
