Jun. 2 – Deputies of Vietnam’s National Assembly debated and discussed the new Law on Environmental Protection Tax on Monday as the government tries to find a way to mitigate the negative environmental externalities the country is experiencing as a result of its rapid economic development and modernization.

The new environmental legislation is an attempt by the government to counter the escalating pollution levels in the water, soil, and air with the first national tax on the commodities that cause pollution. The government is hoping that the robust legal framework will simultaneously deter harmful behavior towards the environment while also raising funds to help mitigate the negative effects caused by the inevitable consumption of energy resources.

The draft Law on Environmental Protection Tax is made up of four chapters and 14 articles detailing the tax declaration, payment, and refund processes. The legislation plans to tax producers of coal, oil and gas, plastic bags, HCFC solution, and pesticides and may regulate a tariff table on the minimum and maximum tax on environmental protection.

The tax is expected to generate between US$757 million to US$3 billion.

The government, meanwhile, did not release the planned taxation levels of different goods or a time table for when the tax may be implemented.