Tax industry will review 100% of livestream sellers

The General Department of Taxation requires local tax authorities to review and compile statistics on all organizations and individuals selling livestream products in their management areas.

In a document sent to local tax departments, the General Department of Taxation requested a review of all organizations and individuals who livestream sales on platforms such as Youtube, Facebook, Tiktok, etc. From there, the tax authority will inspect and check at the taxpayer's headquarters in cases showing signs of risk. They will closely coordinate with relevant agencies and transfer the case to the police for handling if there are signs of intentional violations of tax laws.

Local tax departments are also required to coordinate with each other if tax authorities in other localities request to review organizations and individuals with high incomes through livestream sales.

According to data firm NielsenIQ, in the first quarter of the year, 95% of online customers purchased products through this channel. On average, there were 2.5 million livestream sales sessions per month, with more than 50,000 participating sellers, according to the Vietnam E-commerce Association.

According to current regulations, online sellers will have to pay value added tax (VAT) and personal income tax if they have revenue of 100 million VND or more per year. Individuals with income from commissions from livestream sales must pay personal income tax according to the progressive tax schedule with 7 levels, tax rates of 5-35%. In case the commission is paid to a business household, they will have to declare and pay tax at a rate of 7%, including 5% VAT and 2% personal income.

Requirements review was introduced by the tax sector in the context of tightening management of e-commerce to avoid tax losses. Recently, many organizations and individuals selling online, including livestreaming sales, have been check, collection due to not declaring and paying taxes.

According to the General Department of Taxation, in the first 6 months of the year, nearly 43,000 businesses and individuals were inspected for tax declaration and payment. This group paid nearly VND9,980 billion, an increase of about VND3,480 billion compared to the same period last year. The tax authority also handled 4,560 cases of violations, collecting and imposing fines of nearly VND300 billion.

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