(VOVworld) – The National Assembly on Wednesday afternoon debated the draft Law on National Defense and Security Education. Many of them agreed that the education of national defense and security at primary and lower-secondary schools should be integrated with other subjects and extra-curricular activities. Deputy Le Hien Van from Hanoi stressed the importance of education in each nation’s defense and security strategy. Deputy Ngo Thi Minh from Quang Ninh shared this view: “I propose that the education of national defense and security at primary and lower-secondary schools should be combined with the activities of the Young Pioneers Organization and Communist Youth Union. Article 10 should be altered to move in this direction”.

Some deputies stressed the need to map out specific education programs for students or public employees.

Earlier, National Assembly deputies discussed changes to the Law on Corporate Income Tax including preferential tax policies for certain areas and localities. Under the revised draft, the common tariff will be 22% instead of current 25% beginning January 1^st, 2014, and 20% after January 1^st, 2016 while preferential taxes will be reduced from 20% to 17%.  Deputies agreed on a tax reduction roadmap and proposed applying a common tariff of 20% beginning July 1^st , 2014 to boost domestic enterprises and keep pace with the regional trend. Do Van Ve, a deputy from Thai Binh province, says: “Now and in the next few years, enterprises are facing numerous difficulties. To implement the Program on Economic Restructuring, enterprises will have to deal with new financial burdens. So if we reduce the tariff to 20%, it will encourage enterprises to expand their production. The State and private enterprises will share the difficulties and this will encourage the enterprises. Vietnamese enterprises have to compete with foreign-invested enterprises and integrate into the global economy at the same time, so I would like to propose reducing tariffs to 20% this year and to 18% in the following years without discriminating between big and small enterprises. By doing so, we can ensure a level playing field”.

On Thursday the National Assembly will discuss an additional assessment of the socio-economic and state budget performance in 2012 and early 2013.