NA members identify untapped sources of revenue
NA members identify untapped sources of revenue
National Assembly (NA) members have po inted to many lost sources of revenue, saying the government should enforce the regulations and ensure that all customs duties levied are paid into the state budget and are not misappropriated.
NA members cited the various sources of lost revenue when commenting on the Ministry of Finance's draft report on the budget for the second half of the 2104-15 financial year.
The report was presented at the NA inter-session held in Vientiane last week.
Commenting on the report, NA member for Xieng Khuang province Mr Bounton Chanthaphone praised improvements to the organisational structure of the Ministry of Finance, including reshuffling the heads of various customs checkpoints, which he said had led to an increase in revenue collection.
As of June 17, 6,400 billion kip in taxes had been collected, which was a 31 percent increase on the same period last year, with more than 3,800 billion kip coming from customs duties.
Mr Bounton said the government must obtain a higher percentage of revenue from customs duties. This would be possible if it could regulate the large-scale illegal automobile trade, which he said was rampant throughout the country, including in his province.
NA member for Vientiane Mr Lasanivong Amarathithada also spoke about untapped sources of revenue, saying there were plenty of unregistered automobile showrooms in Vientiane which the local authorities are inspecting.
Mr Lasanivong also suggested that the government revise its calculation of land taxes in business zones. He said land taxes in Chanthabouly district for example should be based on the number of storeys a building contained.
Concerning the low price of minerals on the global commodity market, which the ministry cited as one reason for the revenue shortfall, the NA member for Xieng Khuang province suggested that a tax be levied on the excavation of sand and gravel instead.
This would provide an alternative source of income as the construction business is booming, and only a very small amount of money could be sourced from the harvesting of natural resources in each province.
NA members also raised their concerns about the revenue lost through the exemption of customs duty on goods imported for development projects, and the timber trade.
Mr Bounton said the exemption should not be authorised for imported materials if developers had agreed to use materials produced in Laos.
“Some developers agree to use materials manufactured in Laos but later on they decide to buy them from other countries. In this case, these products should be taxed,” he said.
Concerning the trade in wood, an NA member who wished to remain anonymous, said he was alarmed to learn of the disparity between the amount of customs duty collected on the Lao side of border crossings and that collected in a neighbouring country from the same quantity of wood passing through the two borders.
“It seems that we are being taken advantage of. On the Lao side some 140 million kip has been collected, while the neighbouring country has collected the equivalent of 831 million kip,” he said.
He also raised the issue of cheating among government officials concerning the illegal importation of vehicles, for which he claimed to have evidence, and called on the Ministry of Finance to look into the matter urgently.
