Joint Online Tax System

KHMER TIMES
CHEA VANNAK



The Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s general taxation department plan to jointly operate an online business tax registration system in a bid to strengthen tax collection in the country and root out corruption.

Sok Sopheak, under-secretary of state of the Ministry of Commerce, said yesterday that the joint business-tax registration system will be online by June next year and it will help boost income tax collection.

“This online system will address certain anomalies that previously prevented tax being collected from businesses on time,” said Mr. Sopheak.

“Through the automation, customers [commercial enterprises] will not be able to skip paying tax because this system will share information seamlessly. If they don’t pay tax within the 30-day grace period, their business registrations will be revoked,” he said.

With the online business tax registration system, all information in the computers of the Commerce Ministry will be shared online with the general department of taxation, said Mr. Sopheak.

Executive director of Transparency International Cambodia, Preap Kul, said the joint system between the two ministries will help make the collection of tax from businesses less tedious.

“This system will streamline tax collection from businesses and also help prevent corruption. The assessment and payment of tax are all online, so there is no face-to-face contact with tax collectors. So no one can be bribed,” said Mr. Kul.

Mr. Kul also stressed that this joint tax system must not be seen as a one-off effort by the government.

“Continuous reforms are needed to digitalize public services to prevent corruption. They cannot stop at one effort,” he said.

Tax revenue in the first seven months of the year was $955 million, an increase of 18.91 percent over the same period last year, according to a report from the general department of taxation.