Tech giants including Google and Facebook pay $220 million in taxes

A Facebook logo is displayed on a smartphone in this illustration taken January 6, 2020. Photo by Reuters/Dado Ruvic

Cross-borders platforms like Facebook and Google have paid VND5.1 trillion ($220 million) in taxes for the period between 2018 and 2021, says Finance Minister Ho Duc Phoc.

According to VN Express, he informed lawmakers in a report that by April 2021, Facebook had been taxed VND1.97 trillion; Google, VND1.9 trillion; and Microsoft, VND651 billion.

The figures were 15 percent higher than Phoc's report in March.

Vietnamese authorities also collected VND735 billion from handling violations and tax avoidance by individuals and organizations providing cross-border digital and e-commerce services, the report said.

Last year, Vietnam earned VND1.32 trillion from taxing cross-border platforms, up 15 percent from 2020.

The General Department of Taxation said last year that Facebook, Google, Netflix, YouTube, and other cross-border platforms were not fulfilling their tax obligations in Vietnam.

Vietnam is also looking to tax online sellers, both on e-commerce platforms and social media, as e-commerce sales have been surging by double-digits in recent years.

Phoc called for tightening regulations and upgrading the capacity of collectors to tackle tax evasion more effectively.

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