Vietnam collects $7 bln in taxes from Korean firms over past 5 years

Contributions to Vietnam’s state budget by South Korean companies have continually increased over the past five years, totaling some VND175 trillion ($7.1 billion), despite challenges from the Covid-19 pandemic and adverse global economic impacts, according to the finance ministry.

The amount has accounted for 11% of budget collections from foreign-invested enterprises and 3% of the nation’s budget revenues annually, said Deputy Finance Minister Cao Anh Tuan at a tax and customs policies dialogue on Thursday between his ministry and Korean businesses.

Vietnam had attracted 9,891 projects invested by Korean businesses as of January 2024, with combined registered capital of $85.95 billion, government data showed. There are also 8,058 businesses with over 50% of their charter capital held by Korean firms, accounting for 28% of all FDI firms in Vietnam.

The tally puts South Korea at the top among the 144 countries and territories having invested in Vietnam so far, according to data from the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Samsung has invested over $22 billion in Vietnam to date, making it the largest foreign investor in the Southeast Asian country.

Deputy Minister Tuan highlighted that his ministry had proposed and issued a series of unprecedented measures in terms of taxes, fees, and charges to assist people and businesses faced by hardships from the pandemic and global economic turbulences, including those from South Korea.

The ministry annually handles hundreds of petitions from Korean businesses about problems during their operations in Vietnam, such as value added tax refunding, tax procedures at export processing zones, corporate income tax incentives, and import-export tax calculations.

He revealed that his ministry will continue perfecting mechanisms and policies, accelerate administrative procedure reform, and boost digitalization in the fields of taxation and customs to further facilitate domestic and foreign businesses’ operations.