More than a few celebrated singers who are paid some thousands of US dollars per song paradoxically pay tiny, nominal taxes.

The recent scandal, in which top singer My Tam allegedly requested US$6,000 for a single song at the upcoming Danang International Fireworks Competition, has raised questions among the public regarding chart-topping singers’ incomes and their corresponding tax liabilities.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Office’s 2009 to 2011 inventories, many showbiz celebrities even pay less tax than  average office employees, though they earn up to several thousand US dollars per song.

According to the tax office, as singers’  incomes come from various sources, including those without contracts, the office has substantial difficulty watching over them all.

By April 11, merely 44 out of 210 artists summoned for tax listing had showed up.

Topping the tax evasion ‘blacklist’ is a female pop singer in the highest song pay band who recently gained even more fame after becoming a judge for a reality show and representing several brands.

However, her tax payments remain startlingly small. In 2009, she paid only VND 37 million (US$ 1,807) in taxes, meaning her monthly income totaled merely VND 20 million (US$ 977).

In contrast to her rising fame and song earnings, her annual tax payments have dropped. In 2010, she paid only VND 30.6 million worth of taxes and the amount plunged to a mere VND8.1 million (US$396) in 2011.

Another similarly famous female singer, MC and reality show judge has not listed her taxes since 2009. Neither has a popular Viet kieu comedian who now performs permanently in Vietnam.

The tax office representatives added that, though a number of artists regularly come in for tax listing, their tax amounts remain meager compared to their staggering earnings.

A male MC who was hugely popular for presenting on several television game shows some years ago only paid VND 18.8 million (US$918), VND27.8 million and VND54 million (US$2,637) in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

The tax office revealed that a top-earning male singer’s highest tax rate so far climbed to only VND373 million (US$18,216) in 2011. When asked to list his taxes again, his payments grew from VND400 million to VND773 million (US$37,750).

According to Le Thi Thu Huong, deputy head of the HCMC Tax Office, over the past four years her office has been assigned the task of collecting artists’ tax information from local tax branches where the artists are residing, but to little avail.

In recent weeks, the office began working with different departments to garner information on artists’ incomes.

Huong said that many artists wouldn’t list their tax information with the office as they claimed that 10% had already been deducted from their song earnings immediately after their shows.

“However, this is the advance tax payment only, artists will have to pay more later,” Huong elaborated.

Celebs’ tax evasion ploys

A tax expert revealed that showbiz personalities not only conceal their actual earnings from the tax office but also have ingenious ploys to cut down their tax payments.

The most commonly-used ploy is for artists to found their own company, through which all transactions involving the artists are conducted. The companies will pretend to sign contracts with the artists, declaring their show earnings at a much lower rate than the actual amount.

Another common trick is to purposefully reduce the show earnings in tax declarations.

Nguyen Thai Son, former head of the HCMC Tax Office’s personal income tax department, pointed out the shortcomings in assigning artist tax collection to local tax branches.

“Staff at local tax branches aren’t experienced in this task and thus can’t perform it as efficiently as the tax office can,” Son explained.

“This causes serious deficits in the country’s tax revenues, and is also unfair for office employees whose incomes are invariably deducted for tax payments by their companies,” Son stressed.

Artists’ tax fraud has also sparked public outcry. Many Tuoi Tre readers strongly suggested naming the tax-dodging artists so that their fans will look down on them. Some also called for heavy penalties and tax retrieval to be imposed on these artists.