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The Hanoi Tax Department has finished arranging and merging the district tax office. Photo: Thuy Linh.

Since the end of August 2019, the Minister of Finance has signed 35 decisions to set up regional tax departments under 35 provincial and municipal tax departments nationwide, thereby arranging and consolidating 207 department of taxation to establish 98 regional tax offices, cutting109 tax departments.

This is the third batch of 2019 and the fourth round from 2018 in which the Minister of Finance issued a decision to arrange and consolidate tax departments. Following the direction of the Ministry, up to now, the General Department of Taxation has arranged 401 tax departments of 61 provincial and city tax departments to set up 190 tax offices, cutting 211 tax departments. The number of tax offices across the country has decreased from 711 to 500.

According to a survey at a number of Tax Departments, right after the Minister of Finance signed the decision to set up tax departments, at the designated units, the implementation was done urgently and quickly. For example, at the Tax Department of NinhBinh, under a decision of the Ministry of Finance, the Tax Department of NinhBinh City and the Tax Department of Hoa Lu District will merge into the Tax Department of NinhBinh - Hoa Lu area; the Tax Department of Tam Diep City and the Tax Department of Yen Mo District will merge into the Tax Department of Tam Diep Area - Yen Mo. Immediately after receiving the decision, the Tax Department of NinhBinh province quickly announced the decisions to mobilize and appoint key leaders of the Tax Department of Tam Diep - Yen Mo and the Tax Department of NinhBinh - Hoa Lu for effectivearrangement.

In Bac Ninh Tax Department, implementing Decision No. 1674/QD-BTC of the Ministry of Finance, Bac Ninh Tax Department will carry out the consolidation of ThuanThanh District Tax Departments, Gia Binh District Tax Departments and Tax Departments Luong Tai district becomes the Tax Department of Gia Thuan area (headquarters located in ThuanThanh district); merging Tien Du and Que Vo District Tax Departments into Tien Du - Que Vo Regional Tax Department (headquarters located in Tien Du district). In order to facilitate the smooth deployment of tax offices into regional tax offices, without causing disturbance to taxpayers, the BacNinh Tax Department has set up a steering committee to organize the merger, headed by the Director of BacNinh Tax Department, Ngo Xuan Tong, and the assistant sub-committees headed by the Deputy Director.

According to the leader of BacNinh Tax Department, in order for the regional tax offices to be put into operation, BacNinh Tax Department is urgently reviewing documents and supporting information technology for data in service of the handover, ready to put regional tax departments into operation as prescribed. In fact, the merger has led to a redundant number of branch-level leaders, so it will definitely affect the mentality of officials and public employees. In order for cadres and civil servants to understand and grasp the policies and rest assured in their work, the leadership of BacNinh Tax Department held a personnel meeting to comply with the guidance of the General Department of Taxation with clear and suitable standards. Thanks to the implementation steps that are conducted publicly and transparently, most officials and employees agree with the guidelines of the leadership levels.

Most of the Tax Departments in this arrangement are actively implementing the plan, quickly embarking on tasks such as: mobilizing the appointment of key leaders and training professional operations. In addition, in the process of consolidation, some civil servants will have to change their working places, temporarily experiencinginconvenience in performing their tasks. However, most Tax Departments are always interested in performing the ideological work for all cadres and civil servants of the merged tax departments, so they are aware of their responsibilities and duties, overcoming difficulties to get ready for new missions. Up to now, there have been no complaints in any Tax Department nationwide.

Working closely with local authorities

According to the General Department of Taxation, through the process of implementing Decision No. 520/QD-BTC of the Minister of Finance, the entire tax industry has drawn valuable experience. First of all, the tax industry has enlisted the leadership and direction of the Party Personnel Committee and the Ministry of Finance leaders in close coordination of the departments and units under the Ministry of Finance to proposeactive measures and solutions in directing and administering the consolidation of tax offices. The implementation of the plan has been supported and closely coordinated by the provincial Party Committees and People's Committees, from the provincial to district levels, where the district tax offices were consolidated, including the local departments and agencies to organize the implementation of regional tax office operations.

In addition, tax authorities at all levels have worked closely with local authorities in implementing the plan and collecting state budget in the area, ensuring stability in all activities, not affecting the implementation of annual budget revenues of localities. Along with that, completingthe work of ideological and political education and grasping the ideology of civil servants and employees in the unit, ensuring unity within the agency when reorganizing the tax office, avoiding disturbances that cause congestion, and affect the implementation of assigned political duties. In particular, the tax departments always report to the competent authorities to have a policy to support and ensure benefits incases of civil servants who voluntarily retire before the age of rearrangement of organizational structure as prescribed to encourage civil servants to voluntarily implement the staff downsizing policy.

To continue implementing the scheme of arrangement and consolidation of district-level tax departments to set up regional tax offices under Decision No. 520/QD-BTC of the Minister of Finance, the General Department of Taxation has formulated a scheme by 2020, to arrange and consolidate about 548 district tax offices, towns and cities of 63 tax departments into 257 regional tax offices, cutting291 tax offices, to 420 district tax departments in the system.

In the first quarter of 2020, the General Department of Taxation willcontinue reviewing, arranging and consolidating at least 147 tax departments of districts, towns and cities under the tax departments to establish at least 67 tax departments, reduce the tax rate for at least 80 tax offices and continue reviewing and consolidating eligible tax departments to continue submitting to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation, a maximum reduction compared to the plan in Decision No. 520/QD- BTC of the Minister of Finance.

To accomplish this task, the tax sector will continue to promote the propaganda and education of political ideology; disseminating and thoroughly grasping the contents of Resolution No. 18-NQ/TN to officials and employees of the tax branch. Along with that, it will continue deploying the work of organizing the apparatus and personnel; actively deploying and completing work groups related to professional operations; focus on reviewing and amending policies, regimes, regulations and professional processes to suit the tax administration according to the size of the regional tax department. The General Department of Taxation will direct and guide the preparation of management data for handing over assets and working offices; as well as handing over records and data. At the same time continue to direct the tax authorities to coordinate closely with the state management agencies in the district to ensure the revenue collection in the area is stable.