Experts say that the tax potential of enterprises operating across borders is quite large. — Photo thanhnien.vn

The General Department of Taxation said about 14 large corporations and technology companies in the world and eight cross-border e-commerce websites operating with income in Vietnam fulfilled their tax obligations through Vietnamese organisations and individuals.

Tax revenue from Vietnamese organisations that have signed online advertising contracts with foreign organisations that have not established legal entities in Vietnam such as Google, Youtube or Facebook was estimated at VND4.1 trillion from 2018 to the end of September this year.

Of which, Facebook paid VND1.56 trillion; Google VND1.53 trillion; and Microsoft VND533 billion.

Tax revenue from cross-border e-commerce activities reached about VND1.14 trillion last year. That of the first nine months of this year reached about VND1.01 trillion, equaling 88.95 per cent of last year.

The General Department of Taxation has issued many documents to guide foreign suppliers providing cross-border services. Of these, Netflix has declared and paid taxes in accordance with Vietnamese tax law.

The General Department of Taxation is continuing to issue documents to request these companies to fulfil their tax declarations and payment obligations in accordance with Vietnamese law.

Tax authorities will co-ordinate with relevant State management agencies, commercial banks and tax authorities of other countries to implement tax management measures for overseas suppliers.

In the past two years, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, forms of online commerce, advertising, and shopping experienced strong growth.

Experts in the financial and economic fields said that during the pandemic, while most economic sectors were negatively affected, the digital economy and e-commerce are some of the few industries to see growth, even impressive growth.

Experts say that the tax potential of enterprises operating across borders is quite large.

It is necessary to continue to strengthen the review of non-resident e-commerce transactions in Vietnam, thereby building a tax management mechanism in accordance with international practices, combating the loss of tax revenue from cross-border transactions.

In particular, experts also recommended continuing to research, develop and issue sanctions to prevent taxpayers from evading tax obligations. It is also a must to ensure effective and tight management of tax sources arising in the field of e-commerce.

Source: Vietnam News

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