Tax Expert: Livestream Sellers Earning $3 Million in 17-Hour Streams but Declaring Only $40,000-$130,000 Annually—Full Revenue Disclosure Mandated

On November 12, Thanh Nien Newspaper, in collaboration with the Tax Department (Ministry of Finance), hosted a live seminar titled: “Changes in Tax Management Models – What Should Business Households Note?”

Speaking at the seminar, Mr. Mai Son, Deputy Director of the Tax Department, stated that after abolishing lump-sum tax, the tax authority is transitioning to a management model for business households based on revenue thresholds and development levels, categorized into three groups.

Group 1 includes households with annual revenue of up to 200 million VND, which are exempt from tax and not required to use electronic invoices.

Group 2 comprises households with annual revenue between 200 million VND and 3 billion VND, who must file quarterly tax returns and apply appropriate accounting regimes. Among these, households with annual revenue exceeding 1 billion VND must use electronic invoices with tax authority codes or electronic invoices generated from cash registers.

Group 3 includes households with annual revenue above 3 billion VND, which must apply more comprehensive accounting regimes, use electronic invoices, and file taxes similarly to small enterprises.

Evaluating tax management for business households based on revenue, Ms. Nguyen Thi Cuc, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Tax Consultancy Association, noted that previously, when households and individuals operated under lump-sum tax, they lacked autonomy when revenue changed. Lump-sum revenue was determined based on the previous year, and adjustments were only made if revenue increased by over 50%.

Consequently, taxpayers sometimes forgot to adjust, inadvertently leading to tax evasion. According to Article 200 of the Penal Code, tax evasion of 100 million VND or more is subject to criminal prosecution, posing significant risks. Additionally, some households had to pay taxes despite having no revenue due to lump-sum agreements, while high-revenue households faced tax evasion risks. This lack of autonomy affected business households.

With the shift to revenue-based tax declaration, Ms. Cuc explained that the Ministry of Finance has set revenue thresholds tailored to each group’s management methods. For instance, households with revenue under 200 million VND are exempt, but if their revenue increases to 300–500 million VND during the year, they must redeclare and adjust their tax payments promptly instead of waiting for a 50% increase. This change empowers business households to take greater control.

Furthermore, for households with revenue between 1–3 billion VND or above 3 billion VND, Ms. Cuc emphasized the need for management approaches aligned with the current economic context, which has significantly evolved since the lump-sum tax era.

“We recently discussed a case where a livestream seller generated 70 billion VND in revenue within just 17 hours, while their declared annual tax revenue was only 1–3 billion VND. Clearly, the current calculation method is outdated. The biggest challenge is ensuring that all actual revenue from business activities is fully declared. For example, in Hanoi, a case was reported where declared tax revenue was 5 billion VND, but actual revenue reached 120 billion VND. Therefore, measures requiring full revenue disclosure are essential to ensure tax transparency and fairness,” Ms. Cuc remarked.

The Chairwoman of the Vietnam Tax Consultancy Association also stressed that all business forms, from e-commerce and traditional trade to enterprises and individual households, must fulfill their tax obligations transparently and sustainably. Through this transition, taxpayers develop a stronger sense of responsibility.

When tax authorities can accurately track revenue, whether through cash transactions or other accounts, leveraging modern technologies like AI and cloud computing, tax management becomes more efficient.