Provincial and local governments
Administration
Information project eases Lao government decision making
The inaugural meeting of the cross-sectoral Steering Committee of the Lao Decide Info project took place in Vientiane on 17 February, to assess the progress of the project to date. Lao Decide Info plays a critical role in enhancing the quality of key information relating to ...
Cambodia's budget transparency at all-time low: report
The Cambodian government’s budget transparency score has fallen to its lowest measure on record, according to a recent survey, but officials remain optimistic that the score will improve in the future. Cambodia’s score of eight out of 100 in 2015’s Open Budget Survey put it near ...
New law to strengthen civil servant management in Laos
All Lao civil servants, including leaders will have new uniform regulations imposed on them if a newly drafted law on public service is promulgated. This is the perspective of Laos’ new proposed civil service management law drafted by the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is responsible for ...
Ho Chi Minh City businesses cry foul as tax refunds take unconscionably long
Deputy Minister of Finance Do Hoang Anh Tuan has instructed tax offices in Ho Chi Minh City to review businesses’ applications for tax refunds and resolve possible problems that have been delaying payments. He issued the order at a meeting on 5 November after many businesses complained ...
Hanoi lists 89 new tax defaulters in 'name and shame' strategy
With its recent name-and-shame policy proving to be successful, Hanoi’s tax office has released the names of another 89 businesses whose back taxes have amounted to nearly VND311.7 billion (US$13.78 million). Keep reading ...
CNRP promises not to remove civil servants if victorious
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy promised supporters in Kampong Cham province on 3 October that if his party comes to power, civil servants and soldiers can be certain that they will keep their jobs, and will be given raises. Speaking to hundreds of supporters in Srei Santhor district, ...
Vietnam plans to drop fines for some tax defaulters
The Ministry of Finance plans to forgo fines imposed on businesses which were behind their tax due date if their partners, including state agencies, had failed to pay them on time in accordance with contract terms. Keep reading ...
Campaign period starts, but only for some parties
As with most deadlines and dates this election season, the start of the official candidate campaign period is rolling by only partially heeded. Political parties had to miss scheduled campaign kick-off events – and the unveiling of campaign songs and slogans – because the candidate ...
Vietnam strives to improve its trade statistics for ASEAN
Vietnam will strive to become one of ASEAN’s top five nations in international trade statistics by 2017. This is part of a plan for Vietnam’s integration into the ASEAN Statistics system in the 2016-20 period, as approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. According to the plan’s general targets ...
Vietnam’s name-and-shame corporate tax list enjoys success
Vietnam has found an effective way to crack down on tax laggards as it struggles to fund infrastructure projects and curb rising debt: make the names of the offending businesses public to shame them into paying up. The Ministry of Finance published a first-ever list of ...