HANOI, March 24 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Vietnam's Finance Ministry has proposed cutting the environmental protection tax on gasoline and diesel by half amid rising global fuel prices triggered by conflict in West Asia, according to local media VnExpress on Tuesday, reported Xinhua.
Under the draft resolution, the tax on gasoline, excluding ethanol, would be reduced from 2,000 Vietnamese dong (about US$0.08) to 1,000 Vietnamese dong (about US$0.04) per litre, while the tax on diesel would be cut from 1,000 Vietnamese dong to 500 Vietnamese dong (about US$0.02) per litre.
The tax on jet fuel is also proposed to be lowered by 500 Vietnamese dong to 1,000 Vietnamese dong per litre, the report said.
The move is expected to help curb inflation by lowering retail fuel prices, while reducing state budget revenue by about 1.79 trillion Vietnamese dong (about US$67.93 million) per month, according to the ministry.
Vietnam's environmental protection tax currently accounts for about 6.7 per cent of the components that make up the base price of petroleum products, the report added.
-- BERNAMA-XINHUA
