Job Discussion Forums

[spycatcher reincarnated]

Ernst and Young recently wrote this:

"According to Official Letter No. 1850/TCT-PC dated 18 May 2009 of the General Department of Taxation, Immigration Departments have the right to stop individuals on exit if they have not finished their tax duties in Vietnam. This is not a new concept however with this Official Letter; the enforcement appears to be stricter in application and therefore, it is important to bring your tax affairs up to date to avoid being stopped from exiting from Vietnam by the local immigration officers."

At present, not having read the Official Letter yet and not having heard anything about this apart from the above from EY, I wouldn't be overly worried about this. My initial thoughts on this are, in the short term, this will only be used to target high profile individuals/people on their radar screen and not English teachers, and definitely not Nigerians (sorry for the stereotyping).

[Green Acres]

How would immigration know anything about one's tax affairs? In any country, let alone here?

I'm not doubting you, there, though how on earth can they enforce this measure? Perhaps it's a standard that can be used to target someone? This is really dangerous news, should it be true.

[inky]

By posting this, you are sensationalizing something that has no impact on most people employed in Vietnam. Your employer deducts taxes from your wages, you're fine.

Watch out for the killer bees!!

[Green Acres]

Actually, there is presently an 8 month loophole of tax laws, and in fact, many taxes have not been levied appropriately. Everyone in the south is waiting for the day when one pay check is taken away.

He has a source. Awareness is a good thing.

[mach114]

How many people actually pay taxes appropriately in Vietnam? It's very similar to Vietnamese businesses in San Jose, CA, USA. Most restaurants and many stores only deal in cash. Why? So, they can put down any numbers they choose of course. Do the tax boys know how many students are currently attending which language schools? If they don't then how do they know how good your business is doing? They might have some kind of approximation and that is probably it. How many teachers do you know? How many of them get paid in cash be it dong or dollar? Finally, we all know the tax man is honest of course.

[inky]

The "loophole" is not a loophole, it is a decision to not withhold PIT for the first 6 months of 2009, only for wage-earners who will be in Vietnam for a 12-month period. If it is decided to eventually collect those taxes, it will not affect anyone other than those on year-long contracts or in other long-term situations. The idea that someone will be prevented from leaving Vietnam because of this temporary suspension of PIT collection is ludicrous. A teacher on a 6-month contract, for example, would not participate in the PIT suspension. It only applied to a limited number of tax-payers. Stop scaring people unnecessarily.

[spycatcher reincarnated]

The subject I used was designed to get people�s attention, but it was not my intension to overly worry anyone with this posting. It was supposed to be informative. I remember when the earlier Official Letter came out about this and I have never heard of anyone being pulled up at immigration for nonpayment of PIT.

It is my understanding that some other countries have similar rules. IE if a foreigner has been in the country for more than a certain amount of time or is a frequent visitor then they have to go to the tax department to get a stamp in their passport saying they have no outstanding PIT issues before they are allowed to leave the country.

It seems inevitable to me that at some time Vietnam will clamp down on foreigners that have been here for a number of years that haven�t paid any PIT. IMHO people who are just teaching privately, who are intending to stay here a lot longer because maybe they have ties and have paid no PIT whatsoever should consider making a PIT declaration at the beginning of next year, for this year. For people who have no ties to Vietnam I would imagine that the most immigration would do is give you a hard time, possibly delay your departure, then deport you or not give you another visa to return.

This ruling may just be to:
Scare people in to paying their PIT, but so far this hasn�t been widely publicized so this seems unlikely to me.
To have an official excuse to stop people they want to stop.

To answer some points in the thread:

It is very easy for immigration to know if the tax department wants to speak to someone.
There are supposed to be about 400,000 people paying PIT/having their PIT deferred at the moment.
I am relatively sure that most foreigners in Vietnam do not pay any personal income tax in Vietnam.

NB: I think the helmet law was introduced half a dozen times before it was actually implemented.

[Green Acres]

I'm not scared, but a little concerned since the tax thing has been very strange the past year. Thanks for the post and the information, spycatcher.

inky, why do you wish so much to repress this information? I have met very few people who try to repress the truth, and they all had PERSONAL EDIT.

Since being here I have paid whatever tax was asked of me, sometimes to find out that I paid too much, and sometimes to find that my taxes were never paid. For my government posts, I don't worry about these issues, but for some of the side jobs I may have along the way...well, who's to say that my name is not on a list of people who owe a tax? How would I know, especially if the government is going to enforce something (that is retroactive, as taxes usually are). I was also told that in December our tax brackets would change and then in January that the implementation would be delayed until June. Well, now it's June, and I have paid roughly 10% (in my private sector jobs) through the period which is less than what was informed to be my burden six months prior.

BTW, the helmet law took effect everywhere but in HCMC, until recently. The citizens bucked the trend on many occassions, yet I think the government is getting savvy about how to enforce new laws.

[saigon cowboy]

Ummm....pay taxes , what's that ?

I guess i'm never leaving....alive that is.