Tax collection from online retailers up 54%

A person is shopping online on a smartphone. Photo: VnExpress/Thanh Ngo

Tax collection by online retailers rose 54% in the first half of the year to VND9.98 trillion ($392 million), as the government steps up efforts to crack down on tax evasion by online sellers.

According to the General Department of Taxation, about 43,000 sellers and businesses pay aid taxes, while more than 4,500 of them also pay fines for violations.

Typically, the seller must pay 1.5% tax on revenue.

Delays in business registration and reporting sales data to the tax office may result in a fine of VND 15 million.

The government estimates that 3.1 million households and individuals across the country are doing business, many of them online, and have not registered with the tax office.

The tax department verifies its data against those of the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, as well as e-commerce platforms such as Shopee, Lazada, Sendo and Tiki to ensure that no one avoids taxation.

Hanoi identified thousands of online sellers, including live-streamers, and collected VND10 trillion from them in the first six months.