Sports & Entertainment
HCMC to collect income tax arrears from performers
  • By Trung Kien | dtinews.vn | July 12, 2013 03:53 PM

The HCMC Tax Department made public the tax arrears from five famous artists, including one overseas Vietnamese, which amounted to VND1.3 billion (USD62,300), but they have not revealed the names.

 
 Singer Dam Vinh Hung

Previously, the ward and district tax departments were asked to manage the artists' income taxes but this proved ineffective.

The HCM City Tax Department has cooperated with the local Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Department of Industry and Trade, the Department of Public Security, as well as cafes and bars to collect financial records from these artists' shows.

After 200 artists were asked to report their declared earnings to the HCM City Tax Department it was found that many had tried evade taxes.

One female artist declared income of VND990 million, but it was later found to have been over VND1.2 billion, based on the number of her shows both domestic and abroad. A male artist, who has served as judge on the panel of a number of gameshows, has to pay VND683 million for the three year period between 2010 and 2012.

Even though the name of the performer was not released, rumour quickly spread that it was Dam Vinh Hung because of his high income and his role as gameshow judge on The Voice.

Experts have said that tax evasion among performers is common. Many use loopholes in the law, such as setting up corporations and make contracts with their companies that show much less income than what they really made to avoid paying taxes.

"Us artists follow the law like everyone else," Hung said with Tienphong Newspaper. "However, one trait of an artist is being free-minded and sometimes forgetful. I have always performed my duties to the fullest. I was even praised by the tax department in the media. Why are people so sure about the amount of income taxes we should be paying?"

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