Govt fails revenue target, increases efforts
Govt fails revenue target, increases efforts
The government has introduced a number of measures to boost revenue collection after failing to achieve its revenue collection target for the first quarter of this year.
One of the measures the Ministry of Finance will impose is to congratulate enterprises and individuals who pay taxes to the government on time and in accordance with laws, according to a government sponsored magazine.
Nak Borihan, which is published by the Public Relations Department at the Government Office, reported in its February issue that the government also warned companies that hide income and avoid tax payment they would face warnings and fines, in accordance with the law.
With the measures, the government expects to achieve at least 40 percent of the annual revenue collection target by the end of the second quarter (January to March) of this year.
From October to December, the Ministry of Finance was able to achieve only 12.29 percent of the annual revenue collection plan, which was much less than what it earlier expected.
The ministry was supposed to achieve at least 25 percent of the annual revenue collection target in the first quarter. The government has gained approval from the Lao National Assembly to collect revenue totalling 25,261 billion kip (US$3.1 billion) in the 2013-14 financial year so as to secure funding for its expenditure plans and investment projects. The government plans to spend 29,745 billion kip (US$3.7 billion) this financial year.
To achieve revenue collection targets and maintain stability of the macro-economy the government also encouraged the business sector to boost productivity, in particular the production of rice and cash crops, to ensure sufficient supply of goods.
Laos is facing higher inflation due to a shortage in the supply of food.
One of the main causes of the shortfall is a slow down in agriculture, which has faced floods over the past few years. The agriculture sector saw only 3 percent growth last year.
The government has appointed a taskforce to help the ministry boost revenue collection. The taskforce will also encourage the private sector to implement their investment projects in accordance with concession agreements.
To maintain social stability, the government has prioritised payment of salaries to state employees. At present, many state employees are complaining that they receive salaries late, posing challenges for them meeting cost of living expenses.
The government has also instructed all state agencies to increase their efforts to spend budgets economically as part of efforts to save state finances amid a shortage of government revenue.
vientiane times
