Equity in tax administration for household businesses and small enterprises in Vietnam amidst digital transformation

This paper examines the equity of tax policy enforcement between Business Households (BHs) and Small Enterprises (SEs) within the 2026 landscape of digital tax administration. Grounded in established theoretical frameworks, the author analyzes the prevailing disparities in compliance costs and legal liabilities between these two organizational models. The findings indicate that SEs currently endure a disproportionately higher compliance burden compared to BHs, despite facing equivalent transparency mandates. To uphold the principle of tax neutrality and incentivize the formalization of the economy, the study proposes a four-fold strategic framework: Deploying a Cloud Accounting For All (CAFA) infrastructure to provide free compliance tools; Implementing a standardized compliance cost deduction mechanism for SEs with annual revenues below 3 billion VND; Transitioning toward AI-driven risk management integrated; Establishing a transitional Micro-Enterprise legal status to ensure a seamless formalization pathway for large-scale business households.