Lao firms begin online tax payments

Lao firms begin online tax payments

Nearly 100 companies in Laos have begun paying taxes online after the Ministry of Finance launched the internet based tax payment system.

“About 100 companies have expressed their intention to pay taxes online while 70 of them have already paid their taxes via the internet,” Mr Sanya Paseuth, one of the initial developers of an online tax payment system in Laos toldVientiane Times yesterday.

Mr Sanya, who is also the Ministry of Science and Technology Office Head, said after giving a lecture on how to use the internet based tax payment systems to representatives of major business firms in Laos earlier this month.

He said that the online tax payment project staff were providing training courses on how to use the online tax payment system to representatives of about 100 companies, hoping that the number of companies which pay taxes online will reach 200 by the end of this fiscal year.

“We hope that there will be about 3,800 companies using the online tax payment system in the next few years,” Mr Sanya revealed.

He said that the project would focus on encouraging companies in Vientiane to pay their taxes via the internet before expanding the campaign to the provinces, adding that any companies which hold bank accounts can request to pay their taxes online.

“Using the online tax payment system is very easy. The company can request to make their tax payments via the internet and will be given passwords to access the system,” he said.

Mr Sanya said that the government expects that the introduction of the online tax payment system will help create a better business and investment climate in Laos, adding that one of the benefits which business people will enjoy is that they will no longer need to stand in a queue.

“It will be more convenient for business people if they can pay their taxes from their offices,” he said.

He said that the Lao government expects to benefit from the project as it will help prevent the flow of currency outside the commercial banking system. He also said that the government can expect to receive higher tax revenues if business people find it easier to pay their taxes.

Access to the tax administration is one of the major business constraints in Laos, according to a survey funded by the World Bank.

Finance officials said allowing business people to pay their taxes online would also help the government to reduce the number of staff required to collect tax from every shop in person. They said that the tax officials would be appointed to issue tax invoices to business people, who will be required to pay their taxes after receiving the invoices.

Any companies which fail to pay their taxes after receiving the invoices will be warned and fined by the tax inspectors.

The government has a policy to modernise the works of the Ministry of Finance, so it can work more efficiently and collect more revenue, as demands on the government budget continue to grow

vientiane times