The military junta amended the 2020 Union Tax Law cutting the percentage of taxation on unassessed income or undisclosed sources of income with the aim, it said, to increase businesses which severely hit by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NLD administration introduced taxation on unassessed income in a move to encourage people to pay taxes for unassessed income.
Under the 2020 Union Tax Law, the government levied six percent for unassessed income under K100 million, ten percent for K100-K300 million, twenty percent on K300-3,000 million, and thirty percent on K3,000 million and above.
The SAC’s new law imposed a three percent tax on K100 million, five percent on K100-300 million, ten percent on K300-1,000 million, fifteen percent on K1,000-3,000 million, and thirty percent on K3,000 million and above.
“I don’t think it will increase the government revenue. Some people just didn’t pay the tax despite the introduction of these taxation. This move is to encourage people to pay tax. But, to be frank, this is to make those very rich people pay tax for the unassessed money or another way of a money laundering,” a Yangon-based economist told Myanmar Business Today.
The new taxation will come into effect starting from July 1 to September 30 rasing confusion given the fact that the SAC recent announced to change the fiscal year format to April 1-March 31 from October 1-September 30.
People owning an assessed income will be able to enjoy reduced tax when buying or building a property, or establishing or expanding a business. After paying tax for unassessed income, all those money will be legal since 2020 Union Tax Law stated that Anti-moneylaundering Law will not have effect on those money.
