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Cambodia: Tax changes are part of efforts to maintain govt revenue, experts say
The government is putting more pressure on Cambodia’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to register with the Commerce Ministry and the Tax Department. It wants them to go legitimate in order to protect consumers and make sure it doesn’t miss out on revenue.
While it may be hard for companies to wade through the regulations and do the right thing, the message from Ernst & Young is that they need to collect, declare and hand over value added tax (VAT) in a timely way.
Companies now have to file their VAT returns on the 25th of the following month, five days later than previous regulations, to give companies more time to fill out their paperwork.
Participants in yesterday’s EuroCham webinar also heard from Chamnan Vajiravann, senior tax manager at DFDL in Phnom Penh. She explained that while most products are charged at the standard 10 percent rate there are others subject to special taxes (SPTs). These include 20 percent tax on cigarettes, 35 percent on alcohol and 30 percent on engine oil. On the other hand, the SPT on air tickets and entertainment services such as concerts and sports events is only 10 percent.
The government is keen to collect all the taxes owed because the Coronavirus has curbed spending. Cambodia’s tax department received just over $1.9 billion in taxes in the first eight months of this year, down 7.3 percent from January to August 2020. It’s forecasting $2.2 billion in tax revenue for the full year, compared with $2.9 billion in 2020.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50936037/tax-changes-are-part-of-efforts-to-maintain-govt-revenue-experts-say/