The Cambodian government expects to earn tax and customs income of at least $5 billion by the end of 2021. This would bring revenue expectations in line with the $5.28 billion collected as registered in 2020.
The new target was set after Jan-July tax revenues reached $3.061 billion.
Prime Minister Hun Sen said during his speech delivered yesterday at the campaign launch for vaccinations of people aged 12 years old to 17 years old that tax revenue reached $1.716 billion Jan-July, or 76.55 percent of plan, while customs’ income reached $1.345 billion, or 59.9 percent of plan, during the same period.
He did acknowledge that due to the pandemic, government revenue had decreased but noted that despite the drop the nation’s income still supports its expenditures.
The Prime Minister detailed the projection, saying that in seven months, about $3 billion of income was generated and there are five months left in the year with at least $2 billion more expected to be collected. He noted that as such, over the year the nation will reachabout $5 billion in income which is on average, $400 million per month.
Last year, Cambodia earned $2.87 billion in tax revenue, inching up 3.73 percent compared to 2019. Customs revenue was $2.41 billion in 2020, a 24 percent decrease compared to 2019.
Speaking at July’s monthly meeting, Kong Vibol, director-general of the General Department of Taxation at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said that the GDT has facilitated the tax payment process to be easier for taxpayers during the hard times of COVID-19.
The director-general noted that the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and February 20 incident had negatively and strongly affected tax collection performance.
However, the implementation of the GDT’s internally developed online system and its proactive implementation was an effective reply to the challenges, as reflected in tax collection already having reached 67.58 percent of plan for 2021.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
