Vietnam's 15% Minimum Tax Leads Global Shake-Up

Vietnam Slaps a 15% Floor on Multinationals, Korean Giants Brace for Impact

The Big Picture
Vietnam just fired the starting gun on the OECD’s Pillar Two era. Beginning October 15, every multinational with €750 million-plus revenue will face a 15% corporate tax floor, according to Decree No. 236, the government told Alpha Biz.

The Details
• The new rules introduce a Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax (QDMTT) so Hanoi can scoop up the difference between a company’s existing 5,10% rate and the 15% minimum.
• An Income Inclusion Rule (IIR) will let parent companies top up the bill back home if Vietnam doesn’t.
• Samsung, LG and other Korean powerhouses are squarely in the crosshairs after years of sweetheart deals that kept their effective rate in single digits.
• Vietnam secured “Transitional Safe Harbor” status from the OECD, meaning tax paid under the QDMTT should offset any liability in a parent’s jurisdiction.

Why It Matters
The reaction was swift: Korean subsidiaries warned the abrupt hike would “pressure foreign investors,” Alpha Biz noted. With more than $80 billion already sunk into Vietnamese factories, those firms must now rerun the spreadsheets and possibly renegotiate incentives, with little notice.

Around the Tax World

• Kyoto gets pricier. Japan’s ancient capital won approval to raise its hotel accommodation tax, adding up to €56.84 per night from March 1, 2026, to fund heritage preservation (Tourism Review).

• Carbon-tax clash at sea. Washington says it will sanction ships, seafarers and even national flags if the International Maritime Organization’s members vote for a global carbon levy, Shipping Telegraph reports.

• Volvo’s cold shoulder to incentives. A Volvo tax exec told Bloomberg Tax the automaker no longer builds investment models around tax credits after the U.S. clawed back clean-energy breaks this summer.

• Faith meets finance. At a London conference, religious leaders echoed Pope Leo XIV’s call to challenge “structures of injustice” in global finance, Ind. Catholic News notes.

• OECD’s sober scorecard. The organisation’s 2025 Tax Policy Reforms report finds countries moving from pandemic-era relief to rate hikes aimed at climate, ageing and defence costs, according to Interest.co.nz.

Tax Stat of the Day

36.9 million, the record number of international visitors Japan welcomed in 2024, a surge that’s now funding Kyoto’s higher hotel tax (Tourism Review).

Looking Ahead

All eyes turn to October 15, when Vietnam’s top-up tax officially kicks in. Meanwhile, shipping interests await the IMO vote, and possible U.S. blowback on a carbon levy later this month.