The Internal Revenue Department (IRD) under the Ministry of Finance has issued a statement which demands that international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) operating in Myanmar disclose information regarding taxes.
INGOs providing humanitarian services in the aspects of education, health and poverty alleviation, along with others, will have to report information on expenditure including paying for licences, trademarks and copyrights, and procuring goods and services.
The move was not made with the intention of imposing taxes on INGOs, but keeping better records of the incomes private companies make through the deals with INGOs, an official from IRD said.
“We are not asking them to pay tax. We are requesting information indirectly as there have been cases where the transactions of land and goods take place without our knowledge,” he told Myanmar Business Today.
The statement also urges INGOs to withhold taxes from the salaries of the employees according to the income tax law and afterwards remit the taxes within seven days to IRD as per tax regulations.
The commercial tax and income tax laws allow exemption for income gained from funding, selling goods or services solely for charity or humanitarian purposes.
Local NGOs also have to handle tax affairs properly when procuring goods or changing names, the announcement added.
