Purpose: The article accurately assesses the business activities of Vietnamese people in Hanoi in fierce competition with European and Asian capitalists through the payment of Business-license tax from 1919 to 1929 in tax categories set by the French colonial government from their ruling policy in Vietnam. Method: Historical method, logical method, statistical and comparative methods are the main means used to research and clarify the problem, and are the basis for the author to consider, evaluate, and draw the nature, laws or trends of movement and development of historical events, phenomena and characters. Results: Although the business of Vietnamese people in Hanoi in the period 1919-1929 increased significantly compared to the previous period, it still accounted for a small proportion of Hanoi's total business-license tax revenue at that time. In Hanoi, business-license tax is both a source of local budget revenue and a means to manage business activities of the colonial state in Vietnam, and a tool for the colonial government to control and regulate the business and trade activities of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie and petty bourgeoisie. Conclusion: Scholars' comments and assessments on the research issue show that through the business-license tax, business and trade activities of Vietnamese people in Hanoi in the period 1919-1923 have developed and increased in quantity, quality and business scale. Along with the increase of occupational groups, economic management through taxes is strengthened and tightened by the government. The establishment of the business-license tax, on the one hand, demonstrates the tax collection nature of the new tax system for newly established and developed business and production sectors within colonial society. On the other hand, this tax also reflects the formation and development of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie and petty bourgeoisie. At the same time, the motives are clearly seen when the authorities propose and implement a policy in any country under their rule.