HO CHI MINH CITY -- Vietnam has moved to delay an online tax that is facing resistance from e-commerce companies just days before it was supposed to take effect as the country grapples with a worsening COVID-19 outbreak.
"The Finance Ministry is submitting to the government the postponement of the implementation of Circular 40 on taxes to create more convenience for taxpayers," the ministry said on its website on Sunday night. The circular would require businesses like Shopee, the e-commerce unit of Singapore's Sea, and Lazada, owned by Alibaba Group Holding, to withhold taxes for merchants on their platforms each time a sale is made.
