| Vietnam’s trade ministry seeks to suspend tax on plastic bags |
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4/3/2012 7:42:40 AM Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade has called for suspension of a new environmental tax on plastic bags, saying the plastic industry is struggling with low sales due to higher prices. The tax is not reasonable and has caused many diffculties for businesses, news website thesaigontimes.vn reported, citing a proposal sent to the Ministry of Finance. According to the trade ministry, the tax is confusing since there are various kinds of plastic bags and it is not clear which of them are subject to the tax. Under the the Law on Environmental Taxes, which came into effect in January, plastic bags are taxed at VND40,000 (US$1.92) per kilogram. The Vietnam Plastics Association has complained that prices of plastic bags have surged sharply due to the tax, causing sales to drop 35 percent in January compared to a year earlier. Around 20 percent of workers at its member companies lost jobs the same month, the association said. |
| Thanh Nien |