Vietnam to tax four tech platforms by going to the banks

Airbnb, Booking.com, Agoda and PayPal to have duties automatically withheld

Hanoi has spent years figuring out how to tax tech businesses, which often don't have offices in the country. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Shinya Sawai and AP)

LIEN HOANG, Nikkei staff writer

January 17, 2025 11:55 JST

HO CHI MINH CITY -- Vietnam has ordered banks to withhold taxes for Agoda, Airbnb, Booking.com and PayPal, marking the latest effort by the fast-growing Southeast Asian country to levy global technology giants.

The order applies to the four online platforms as well as 100 lenders, according to a General Tax Department letter seen by Nikkei Asia. It would mean that when Vietnamese send money through these overseas-based websites, they could find that their banks are taking out a slice for taxes.