Recently, there have been quite a few individuals starting businesses. Many online businesses have achieved success on e-commerce platforms like Shopee and Lazada. However, these business owners were unaware that they had been in tax arrears for a long time and had received notices from the tax authorities regarding back taxes amounting to billions of VND.
This came as a huge surprise and caused great anxiety for the person, as they never imagined that doing business on an e-commerce platform could lead to such a situation. This highlights the fact that neglecting tax obligations or being careless in online business operations has put many individuals in difficult situations, and they must find ways to address this issue immediately to avoid future risks.
Suddenly discovered they owed billions of dong in taxes from their online business.
Currently, there's a buzz surrounding the story of an affiliate marketer. An affiliate marketer (also known as an affiliate) engages in activities to link products to e-commerce platforms for purchase. This person reportedly received 20 billion VND in compensation from the e-commerce platform.
Despite being informed that only 10% tax could be deducted, the e-commerce platform declared the income of its affiliate marketers as salaried income, resulting in the application of a progressive tax rate of up to 35%.
After paying the 10% tax mentioned on the e-commerce platform and expenses for personnel, content creation tools for sales, advertising, purchasing channels, pages, groups, etc., only about 1,8 billion VND remained. The story doesn't end there; this person also... He discovered he owed 5.1 billion VND in taxes. After checking tax settlement information through the eTax Mobile application.
Subsequently, this person still argued that being charged 5.1 billion VND in back taxes as currently displayed on the eTax application was unfair and that they are now facing difficulties in paying a sum many times larger than the amount actually received.
This story has been widely shared on social media and has sparked a storm of debate among affiliate marketers and those knowledgeable about taxation. Notably, this is not an isolated case. There are many other instances of businesses operating in the affiliate marketing sector discovering they owe a large amount of taxes and facing unexpected debt collection demands from the tax authorities.
The main reason stems from a lack of understanding of tax obligations or possibly negligence in tax declaration.
Currently, the tax authorities have recorded information on approximately 21.500 businesses, 16.500 household businesses, and over 80.600 individuals conducting business on platforms such as Shopee, Tiki, and Lazada. They have also collected information on around 110.000 bank accounts and identified the identities of over 591.200 stores.
Upon review, it can be seen that some individuals and businesses are conducting business transactions on multiple e-commerce platforms, but Business registration and tax registration procedures have not been completed., as well as Tax declaration and payment have not been made as required. of the law. This shows that many taxpayers still lack sufficient knowledge of tax regulations or are careless in managing their finances. Others believe that small businesses do not need to register for tax.
For this reason, when using the eTax application or carrying out tax settlement and refund procedures, many people are surprised by their income and tax debt figures.
Tax arrears can lead to many negative consequences for businesses.
This may be because the current legal regulations on penalties for tax evasion in Vietnam are not sufficiently deterrent. Compared to other countries, tax evasion is generally considered a much more serious economic crime, as it is seen as the misappropriation of public and state assets. Therefore, the likelihood of facing fines and imprisonment is very high. The penalties vary depending on the severity of the violation.
The consequences include:
- Administrative finesThe fines can amount to hundreds of millions of dong, or even billions of dong, if regulations are not complied with.
- Increased business costsLarge tax debts can increase costs and reduce profits.
- Legal riskFailure to register for taxes can lead to serious legal risks, including criminal prosecution.
Specifically:
- Minimum penalty: Fines from 100.000.000 copper come 500.000.000 copper or imprisonment from 3 months come 1 years if tax evasion with an amount from 100.000.000 copper come under 300.000.000 VND. Fish below 100.000.000 copper but was penalized for the violation. administrative offenses related to tax evasion or having been convicted of such offenses.Regarding this crime.
- Maximum penalty: Fines from VND XNX billion come VND XNX billion or imprisonment from 2 years come 7 years if an individual commits tax evasion with an amount from VND XNX billion above.
To avoid unexpected tax debts.
To avoid falling into a similar situation, individual business owners need to take the following measures:
- Understand the legal regulations.Understand and master the tax regulations for individual business owners.
- Register for taxes in a timely manner.Make sure to register for tax purposes as soon as you start your business to avoid unnecessary penalties.
- Transparent financial managementRecord and manage income and expenses transparently and accurately.
- Tax expert consultationConsult with tax experts to ensure compliance and optimize business benefits.
For those who haven't completed their tax registration and are only just beginning the process, don't let not registering cause you major trouble. Clarify your registration status and request to file your tax returns. Act today to protect your business. Tax registration is not only about complying with the law but also about managing your finances effectively and achieving sustainable growth.
Get support from experts.
Consult with Expertis tax experts. To protect your business and avoid wasting time on unnecessary tax and legal risks. If you need support and advice, please contact us. contact now With Expertis auditing and consulting firm, we are always ready to help you resolve any tax and financial-related issues.