Livestream sale activities to be scrutinized
The General Department of Taxation has tasked local tax authorities to review and inspect tax payment of online businesses and live sales.
The move came as some livestream sellers got online sales worth up to hundreds of billions of Vietnamese dong. Meanwhile, a large number of products were sold at cheaper prices in comparison with those in sales agents or shops.
Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi was quoted as saying that live selling generates revenue and can generate income, therefore sellers must pay tax according to the present tax regulations and under supervision by tax authorities.
E-commerce platforms in general and livestreams in particular are currently subject to two taxes. Individuals who generate revenue and income are those who must pay personal income tax. A family business selling goods with revenue will pay taxes for the business household.
E-commerce in Viet Nam is booming at an average annual rate of 20-25 percent, placing the country among the top 5 nations in the world in terms of growth rate, said of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien.
Tax collection from e-commerce (including livestream sales) valued VND83 trillion (US$3.6 billion) and VND97 trillion in 2022 and 2023, respectively. In the first five months of 2024, VND 50,000 billion of tax was collected in the first 5 months of this year.
Currently, 96 foreign suppliers such as Facebook, Google, and Tiktok have so far registered and paid taxes at the Ministry of Finance's electronic portal on e-commerce. These large corporations have paid VND 15,600 billion in e-commerce taxes.
