Foreign tech giants to pay $157 million in taxes in first half of year

According to the Ministry of Finance, in the first half of 2024, an additional 26 foreign service providers registered to pay taxes via the electronic portal.

To date, a total of 102 foreign service providers have registered, filed and paid taxes via the electronic portal. These are individuals from the United States, the Netherlands, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Ireland, Switzerland, Australia and the United Kingdom.

According to Circular No. 80/2021/TT-BTC of September 2021, foreign service providers conduct e-commerce, digital and other businesses in Vietnam without a permanent establishment. Foreign service providers such as Google, Meta, Microsoft, Netflix and Apple are among those who have filed and paid taxes.

There were currently 383 domestic and foreign e-commerce platforms providing information on the electronic portal, which means an increase of 22 compared to the end of 2023.

The General Department of Taxation (GDT) has taken a series of measures to improve tax administration for domestic e-commerce activities. Accordingly, e-commerce activities have been divided into eight groups for ease of management. These include e-commerce platforms; e-commerce websites/apps; social media platforms; transportation and delivery platforms; agent platforms; subscription platforms; advertising platforms; and app store platforms.

In addition, taxpayers involved in e-commerce activities are divided into two main groups. One group consists of companies and individuals who use social media and e-commerce platforms to offer domestic goods and services. Another group includes foreign service providers who offer products and services cross-border.

According to GDT, tax management revenues amounted to $146.28 billion and taxes paid amounted to $3.82 billion in 2023.

Brewing industry forced to adapt to potential tax implications After several stressful years of falling demand, the brewing industry is facing even greater challenges, including the potential impact of a special consumption tax that is forcing it to look for new ways to grow.

Valuable lessons can be learned from the rules regarding sweetened beverages Tax policy is an effective financial measure to control the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). The high prevalence of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) due to increasingly unhealthy dietary patterns is a global health problem. Considerable attention has been paid to reducing excessive sugar consumption and especially the consumption of SSBs.

Tax increases must be effective to support beverage groups The beverage production and trade sector makes a significant contribution to Vietnam’s socio-economic development and meets the needs of domestic and export consumption, ensuring market stability.