There's no such thing as a free lunch, as the Americans would say. And now, Vietnam's Minister of Information and Communications accuses companies of streamingas the Apple and Netflix of tax evasion and unfair competition.
Despite having combined revenue of nearly 1 trillion dong (or US$43,15 million), the Apple and Netflix have never paid taxes in the country. It is also true that there are more than a million subscribers to these platforms in the country, which guarantees the companies' high income.
“Domestic companies have to comply with tax and content regulations, while foreign companies do not, which is unfair competition,” Minister Nguyen Manh Hung was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
The minister also accused Netflix of violating regulations related to the country's history and sovereignty (making Vietnam War films complicated) and of promoting violence, drugs and sex (making almost everything complicated).
Stronger laws
In 2018, the country adopted cybersecurity laws that require foreign companies, such as Apple and Netflix, which make revenue from virtual activities, had data hosted in the country, but Netflix, for example, said it had no interest in opening or maintaining servers in Vietnam. Apple did not comment on the Vietnamese minister's accusation.
Vietnam is not alone in complaining about tax evasion against Apple, Netflix and other streaming services. To avoid problems like this, several Southeast Asian countries have tightened their fiscal grip on technology companies. The Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia are examples of nations that have revised their legislation to ensure that these companies collect taxes.
Through which channels you reach those people, classic and out of the box. Reuters
