HÀ NỘI — Several individuals and celebrities engaged in business or partnerships with brands on e-commerce platforms will be subject to tax inspection starting in early 2025, according to the General Department of Taxation.

Department Deputy General Director Mai Sơn emphasised that under current regulations, all businesses, organisations and individuals, whether famous or not, are obligated to self-declare, self-pay and take responsibility for fulfilling their tax obligations. 

Tax authorities are tasked with providing guidance and support as well as implementing solutions for audits, inspections and enforcement to ensure fairness and transparency.

“For celebrities or influencers involved in livestream sales or affiliate marketing, we have instructed tax authorities to strengthen oversight,” Sơn said. 

This includes supporting taxpayers, developing an e-commerce portal for individuals, providing guidelines and building a database through information sharing among ministries, sectors and e-commerce platforms.

Tax authorities are also monitoring and enhancing tax management measures for celebrities and influencers engaging in livestream sales and affiliate marketing. A list of celebrities with significant livestream revenue will be filtered to undergo risk assessment and be subject to audits.

Recently, the tax authority has focused efforts in Hà Nội and HCM City - two hubs of entertainment, culture, arts and business - with many celebrities engaged in digital platform and e-commerce activities.

Nationwide, 76,400 individuals are involved in e-commerce activities. Over 30,000 cases of violations have already been handled, resulting in total penalties of VNĐ1.3 trillion (US$52 million).

“For major platforms including Grab, Sendo, Lazada, Shopee and TikTok, we have extracted all tax data for cross-checking and enforcement where necessary”, Sơn added. — VNS