IMF Assists Vietnam with Tax Administration Diagnostic Tool

The General Department of Taxation (GDT) recently coordinated with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to organize a workshop on the Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool (TADAT).

The workshop on the Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool (TADAT)

Speaking at the workshop, Ms. Le Thi Chinh, Deputy Director of the Reform Department (GDT), thanked the IMF for its cooperation in the past time, especially the delivery of technical support to the Vietnamese tax sector to successfully develop the Tax System Reform Strategy to 2030 and in many other activities, particularly new, difficult areas of the Vietnamese tax sector.

The Vietnamese tax sector defines that strategic management plays a particularly important role, she said, adding that effective strategic management will be a positive factor to ensure that the Vietnamese tax sector will complete its political tasks assigned by the Government and the Ministry of Finance, especially in the current context of unfavorable social and economic factors.

One of the good strategic management solutions is to apply international standard tools to assess the current status (strengths and weaknesses) of the tax management system such as TADAT recommended by the IMF to be applied in Vietnam in the coming time, said Chinh. The TADAT Tool will provide a standardized method to measure the health of main components in a country's tax management system and the level of tax management achievements in that country compared to international standards. TADAT's assessments are especially useful for identifying strengths, weaknesses and relative gaps in the tax management system, helping tax authorities and stakeholders (like international organizations and technical assistance providers) have a unified view on the current status of the tax management system, establish reform programs with solutions to improve the effectiveness of tax management for the next stage, and accelerate reforms more quickly and more effectively.

To prepare well for the assessment in November 2024, Chinh asked IMF experts to provide detailed instructions on TADAT methods of assessing the health of main components of the tax management system, analyze and clarify the requirements for documents and verification data for each indicator and measure, and facilitate the Vietnamese side to make preparations before the November assessment.

At the workshop, experts from GDT units were introduced to the TADAT Tool and the field assessment process in November by IMF experts. They thus understand, discuss and clarify verification requirements through IMF assessments and prepare data for the TADAT assessment in November 2024. As a result, the assessment will accurately reflect the current status of the Vietnamese tax sector compared to international practices.

During the four working days, IMF experts Mr. Steve Vesperman and Ms. Fjolla Muja presented the main principles and application of TADAT assessment criteria, the reasons for going through the assessment process as well as strengths and weaknesses in applying this tool. They expressed their hope to help Vietnamese tax officials understand how to develop the tool and identify focused goals in the next 4-5 years so that the Vietnamese tax sector can approach international standards.

By Huong hau, Vietnam Business Forum