Speaking at the session, deputy Tran Thi Dieu Thuy from Ho Chi Minh City expressed support for the proposal to designate November 24 as Vietnam Culture Day. She said allowing workers to take a paid day off on this occasion is a policy of strong significance, helping honour national cultural values and enabling people to take part in and enjoy cultural and sports activities.

To spread the practical meaning of the day, she proposed stronger mechanisms to encourage people to access public cultural and sports facilities. Accordingly, on the holiday, people using services at public cultural and sports establishments should be exempt from all service fees. She said waiving all service charges at such facilities on Vietnam Culture Day would ensure consistency, be easy to implement and create wider participation in cultural activities.

Deputy Do Duc Hong Ha from Hanoi said the draft resolution makes Vietnam Culture Day a paid public holiday linked to stimulating cultural consumption. He said this is a policy with strong national symbolic value and wide practical impact, noting that a paid holiday would both honour cultural values and create conditions to stimulate consumption and promote domestic tourism.

However, he suggested that instead of limiting fee reductions to public cultural and sports facilities, the resolution should include mechanisms to encourage private cultural and entertainment establishments to join discount programmes, thus forming a nationwide campaign to stimulate the cultural industry.

Deputy Pham Van Hoa from Dong Thap province said institutionalising Vietnam Culture Day as a paid holiday would require amendments to the Labour Code, and including it in the code as a paid public holiday carries legal implications that require careful consideration.

Resolving the issue, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Lam Thi Phuong Thanh said the drafting committee would consider proposals to waive cultural and sports service fees on Vietnam Culture Day.

Lawmakers propose tax incentives to support cultural development

VOV.VN - Lawmakers have proposed tax incentives to support Vietnam’s cultural sector, including preferential policies for film exports, digital applications and traditional performing arts, during discussions on a draft resolution on breakthrough mechanisms and policies for cultural development.