Uber $2.94 million in tax arrears

The Ministry of Finance's inspection found Uber's tax payments lacking

After inspecting Uber BV’s tax records since it started operations in Vietnam in 2014 to June 2017, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Taxation has requested Uber BV to pay its tax arrears.

Notably, Uber BV will have to pay VND10.5 billion ($461,589) in withholding tax, as well as VND26.3 billion ($1.16 million) of VAT and more than VND14.6 billion ($641,841) applied to personal income tax.

Besides, the taxation authority issued a fine of VND10.3 billion ($452,805) for its false declaration leading to the lack of tax that the company has to pay and the company will have to repay the tax worth VND4.9 billion ($215,412) that it has yet to pay due to false declaration.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Taxation asked Uber BV to pay the tax arrears of VND66.68 billion ($2.93 million) within ten days of receiving the authority’s decision, otherwise it will be subject to enforcement measures.

Nguyen Nam Binh, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Taxation told Vnexpress that Uber BV agreed with the authority’s findings, with the exception of the corporate income tax. It also requested the taxation authority to provide an exemption over this tax, as the enterprise operates as a foreign contractor in Vietnam.

Damian Kassabgi, Uber's director of public policy for the Asia-Pacific, promised that the company will comply with Vietnamese regulations. However, Uber BV had yet to grasp their tax obligations in Vietnam and was unaware of the arrears until MoF’s recent official letter clarified their situation.

Previously, traditional taxi firms claimed that they have been subject to a variety of taxes and charges, while Uber and Grab Taxi were only subject to a tax rate of 4-5 per cent.

With about 30,000 taxis in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, traditional taxi firms must pay an average VND2 trillion ($91.7 million) in taxes annually, while the tax agencies have collected only VND20 billion ($879,234) per year from the 31,000 Uber and Grab cars.

Before traditional taxi firms’ started voicing complaints, in July, the General Department of Taxation sent a document requesting the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Taxation to inspect both Uber BV and GrabTaxi. However, only the investigation results of Uber BV has been disclosed.

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