Experts in the finance, law and international business fields have said there is not enough evidence to confirm all Vietnamese enterprises and individuals named in the Panama Papers are involved in illegal activities, but stressed authorities should act to ease public concerns.

Offshore enterprises have been registered in tax havens in the past 50-60 years in line with international practices, experts told the Daily after 189 Vietnamese firms and individuals are found in the Offshore Leaks Database released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and Sudetendeutsche Zeitung.

A lawyer, who is working for a foreign corporation, said he knew a couple of entrepreneurs named in the leaks had set up companies which racked up losses. Some of them work for foreign organizations and are suggested to represent offshore firms to contribute capital to establish ventures in Vietnam.

The lawyer said to check the enterprises and individuals, relevant data should be collected from them and their enterprises, management agencies, banks and other sources.

Experts suggested authorities check whether they have infringed regulations on overseas investments, foreign currency transfers to other nations and taxes.  

The Ministry of Planning and Investment can probe whether they have registered or got investment licenses for establishing firms abroad. Meanwhile, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) should look into whether or not the persons named in the Panama Papers have violated regulations on foreign currency transfers to other nations.

At present, a Vietnamese can carry along a maximum of US$5,000 in cash when traveling abroad without having to declare it but regulations on money transfers by credit cards and bank accounts are inadequate and unclear. In tax havens, foreigners can set up a company with a share worth US$1 and they are not obliged to show where money is sourced.

Tax agencies can look into audits and earnings of Vietnamese enterprises and individuals named in the leaks.

The director of a foreign bank told the Daily that Vietnamese citizens are required to declare their incomes earned in foreign nations. Tax havens impose low or no taxes on businesses. If the governments of those nations do not sign agreements on avoidance of double taxation with the Vietnamese Government, Vietnamese nationals would have to pay taxes if they cannot prove their losses or income tax exemptions.     

Tax havens like the British Virgin Islands, Panama and Cayman Islands have yet to clinch such agreements with Vietnam due to limited trade ties.

Speaking to the Daily, a leader of the HCMC Tax Department said tax authorities could request the individuals and organizations in HCMC named in the Panama Papers to explain their operations and tax payments in foreign nations. Based on the agreements on avoidance of double taxation between Vietnam and foreign countries, authorities can take proper measures.  

She said she will propose the director of the department send a formal request to those individuals and organizations to provide their tax details.   

Another expert told the Daily that the General Department of Taxation should order its agencies to take measures on tax management.  

According to local media, the General Department of Taxation has established a team to review tax payments of the individuals and organizations named in the papers.