Foreign service providers fulfill tax obligations in Vietnam

September 30, 2022 | 10:05

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Since the portal for tax payment of cross border activities was launched on March 21 this year, 36 foreign service providers have registered, declared and paid taxes through it, heard a webinar held by the Government Portal on September 29.

Those providers include six big names - Meta (Facebook), Google, Microsoft, TikTok, Netflix, and Apple - which together account for 90% of the e-business on cross-border digital platforms in Vietnam in terms of revenue. They paid hundreds of millions of USD in taxes to the State budget, according to a representative from the General Department of Taxation.

Foreign service providers fulfill tax obligations in Vietnam

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Cross-border foreign businesses are those without permanent establishments in Vietnam and carry out e-commerce and other services with businesses and individuals in Vietnam.

Earlier, foreign businesses had to rely on an agent or third party to declare and pay taxes in the country.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade reported that Vietnam’s e-commerce revenue was estimated at 13.7 billion USD in 2021, up 16% annually and accounting for 6.5% of the total retail revenue.

Prof. Hoang Van Cuong, member of the National Assembly’s Committee for Finance-Budget and Vice Rector of the National Economics University said Vietnam is rated among four Southeast Asian countries in terms of cross-border tax management via tax declarations on the portal.

A representative from the General Department of Taxation said foreign service providers worked closely with tax agencies to learn about tax policies and offer suggestions to them to improve tax policies and tax management tools.

Foreign buyers face property tax limbo

Some dossiers to transact property from foreigners to future buyers are still pending at local tax offices and waiting for the final decision of the General Department of Taxation to determine what type of tax to impose.

Tech giants complying with new tax system

A range of multinationals have already complied with Vietnam’s new foreign supplier tax portal – subsequently, these groups are now adjusting their tax policies, which may affect companies and individuals who generate income from digital platforms.

By VNA

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