Thailand
Laos: Govt merges two special trading areas
Businesses operating in a border trade area at a Lao-Vietnamese border crossing in Savannakhet province will soon be offered special tax and non-tax incentives as in special economic zones.
“Enterprises operating in the Ban Dansavan border trade area will receive the same tax and non-tax incentives as in the Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone,” Mr Champa Khamsouksay from the Special Economic Zone Management Committee said yesterday.
Mr Champa said the special offer at the Ban Dansavan border trade area was made possible after this trading area merged with the Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone.
A ceremony to announce the merger of the two trading areas was held on December 31 at the Savannakhet Special Economic Zone. Minister of Planning and Investment, Dr Souphanh Keomixay, and other senior government officials attended the event.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Souphanh said the merger of the two trading areas was in line with the government’s policy to offer businesspeople one-stop services.
People who are looking for business opportunities and the chance to invest in the two border trading areas can submit investment proposals at a single place, according to Dr Souphanh.
He said the merger of the two trading areas was a strategy to consolidate development powers and he believed the move would benefit Savannakhet province in the long run.
A source from the Ministry of Planning and Investment told Vientiane Times yesterday the government was confident that the merger would attract more foreign investors to the two zones, especially from Vietnam. He said that, in the past, business operators in the two trading areas were puzzled about the different treatment they received under the two administrations.
“Businesspeople in the two zones will receive the same treatment,” the source said. According to information posted on the website of the Investment Promotion Department, the Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone offers a number of tax and non-tax incentives.
The special trading treatment includes the service sector, with operators in the zone to be exempt from paying profit tax for a period of 2 to 10 years. After this time has expired, businesses have to pay an annual profit tax of 8 to 10 percent. This compares favourably to the rate levied on businesses operating outside of the special economic zone, which are subject to a profit tax of 24 percent.
Trading is one of the businesses that are subject to investment incentives in the special economic zone. This sector will receive a tax exemption for a period of 2 to 5 years and after this time will be subject to profit tax of only 10 percent.
Industry is another sector that benefits from profit tax exemption for a period 5 to 10 years. After this time, profit tax will be charged at the rate of 8 percent annually.
Source: http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/freeContent/FreeConten_Govt_merges_3.php