Finance Minister: ‘Do not take gasoline price difference as a source of income’

Petrol price is one of the issues that received much attention at the Dialogue on fiscal policy to support the program of socio-economic recovery and development, on April 7.

Prof. Nguyen Mai, Chairman of the Association of Foreign Investment Enterprises, said that the transport and transportation group, which has just begun to recover after Covid-19, has been affected by gasoline prices.

“In 2-3 months, the sharp increase in gasoline prices has caused many businesses in the industry to moderate or stop production,” he said. This, according to him, will create great risks for the program of economic recovery and development. Therefore, he noted that it is necessary to focus on quickly and timely settlement of gasoline prices for the development of the transportation industry.

Mr. Mai suggested that the leaders of the Ministry of Finance should comprehensively calculate the impact of petroleum prices, not only taking into account budget revenue, but also consider this as a matter of economic recovery. Next, the authorities should have a supportive view for businesses in this regard. Finally, the Ministry should also consider the benefits – harms when gasoline prices increase.

As an example, he said that before the high gasoline price, Petrovietnam increased revenue and paid very high taxes in the first quarter, solving the petroleum problem to help transport businesses develop also produces the same results for the state budget. country.

Responding to the sharp increase in gasoline prices, Finance Minister Ho Duc Phuc said: “We never take the difference in petrol prices as a source of income, but always calculate the impact on the economy.”

However, he noted, in order to control gasoline prices, there must be a total solution, not just tax reduction. The reason that the tax reduction will have a negligible impact when the world price of this material is increasing, it is difficult for Vietnam to stop the trend.

Therefore, the problem here is that the Ministry of Finance must always calculate to ensure the synchronization of supply and demand, petroleum funds, tax reduction, anti-smuggling, and supply assurance to have a positive impact on the economy. economic.

According to the Minister, Vietnam’s petrol price is still lower than Laos, China and some neighboring countries thanks to the great efforts of the management agency. The Ministry of Finance also always closely follows the price movements of gasoline, oil and other commodities to have policies to ensure business development.

Mr. Dang Cong Khoi, Deputy Director of the Price Management Department (Ministry of Finance) also said that from the end of last year until now, the Ministry of Finance and Industry and Trade have coordinated to forecast petrol price movements to update in various scenarios. operating version. This is to ensure that commodity prices are flexible in line with world prices, and at the same time, curb domestic spikes.

In addition, these agencies also promote price management solutions to control cases of taking advantage of petrol and oil and then pushing up commodity prices unreasonably.

In the coming time, the Ministry of Finance will continue to use the Petroleum Stabilization Fund to keep gasoline prices in the country, promoting solutions to ensure supply and demand. The ministry also reviews and evaluates the petroleum distribution system to adjust the structure to suit domestic realities; strengthen inspection and strictly handle cases of speculation, hoarding or unreasonable increase in selling prices.

Previously, the adoption of the reduction of environmental protection tax on gasoline from April 1 also directly lowered the price of gasoline in the country.

Duc Minh