Myanmar: Tour guides call for fair tax policy

Myanmar: Tour guides call for fair tax policy

Friday, 29 July 2016 – Tour guides are grappling with a tax system they say charges them different rates in different parts of the country, and expects them to pay throughout the year for work that only lasts six months.

Rates vary from township to township even within the same state or region, they say. Typically, guides’ work is seasonal: busy when the sun shines, but quiet once the tourists go home. Yet they are taxed for the whole year, U Zaw Win Cho, a tour guide based in Bagan told The Myanmar Times.

“Taxation varies from township to township throughout the country. The amount of tax collected depends on the target [set by the government],” he said, adding that townships that derived revenue from other sources did not tax tour guides heavily. Read More?