Jurnal Ilmiah Hukum LEGALITY
Vol. 34 No. 2 (2026): September

Improving Environmental Protection Tax Legislation Towards Sustainable Development in Vietnam

Nguyen Chien Thang (Department of Economic Law, Faculty of Economics, Academy of Finance, Vietnam)
Pham Thi Hong Nhung (Faculty of Law, University of Finance - Marketing, Vietnam)
Nguyen Thi Ngoc Dung (Department of Economic Law, Faculty of Economics, Academy of Finance, Vietnam)



Article Info

Publish Date
06 Sep 2026

Abstract

This article assesses the extent to which the 2010 Environmental Protection Tax Law meets the requirements through three aspects: the scope of taxable subjects, consistency with the environmental protection legal system, and the mechanism for determining tax rates. Environmental protection tax is a vital economic instrument for implementing the “Polluter-pays principle”, promoting green growth and sustainable development. After more than fifteen years of implementation, the 2010 Environmental Protection Tax Law has contributed to the internalisation of environmental costs and generated revenue for the state budget. However, the amendments made in the 2020 Environmental Protection Law, along with the commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050, necessitate the improvement of the current legal framework. The study employs traditional legal research methods combined with functional comparative law and legal grafting theory. The results show that the 2010 Environmental Protection Tax Law remains confined to three main aspects: the scope of taxable subjects does not fully cover new sources of pollution; it does not ensure consistency with the 2020 Environmental Protection Law; and the mechanism for determining tax rates does not fully reflect the level of environmental impact of each type of goods. Referring to the experience of the European Union and South Korea, this article proposes directions for improving the 2010 Environmental Protection Tax Law to enhance the effectiveness of tax regulation and support the green transition process in Vietnam.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

legality

Publisher

Subject

Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice

Description

Jurnal Ilmiah Hukum Legality (JIHL) is a peer-reviewed open access Journal to publish the manuscripts of high quality research as well as conceptual analysis that studies in any fields of Law, such as criminal law, private law, bussiness law, constitutional law, administrative law, international ...