The General Department of Taxation (GDT) at the Ministry of Economy and Finance said the tax income collection reached 70 percent of the 2022 budget law in the first half of this year.
Director-General Kong Vibol mentioned the latest tax collection figures at a training course on tax law and regulation on Wednesday.
The budget law requires the GDT to collect $2,819 million in 2022. The 70 percent of the plan translates to $1,973 million.
Vibol said the GDT is expected to see the tax income exceed the plan by at least 10 percent this year, pointing to the fresh reforms in the taxation system.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic, the GDT continues to collect more tax revenue than planned,” Vibol said.
“As planned, the tax income collection will exceed the plan set by the Financial Management Law by not less than 10 percent this year, while the GDT has strengthened policy measures and tax administration to ensure the efficiency of tax revenue collection,” Vibol said.
Strengthening and training human resources is important, including the dissemination of tax laws and regulations, reform and modernisation of the tax administration and the provision of service to taxpayers, he said, adding that it is necessary for all taxpayers to understand the obligation to pay taxes.
The Kingdom has two institutions responsible for collecting taxes. One is the GDT, which focuses on interior taxes such as income tax, salary tax, value added tax and property tax.
The other is the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE), which collects taxes on goods entering and leaving the country.
The GDCE earned $1,293 million in customs income in the first half of this year, representing 50.1 percent of the financial plan for 2022.
Cambodia reopened borders to vaccinated tourists and socio-economic activities after efficiently controlling the pandemic domestically, giving momentum to the socio-economic growth.
Prime Minister Hun Sen said late last month that the government earned nearly $500 million from all sources of taxes in June alone, in line with the increase in domestic demand and imports.
The Prime Minister said that the income was still low compared to the pre-Covid-19 period, which was between $500 million and $700 million per month. But the income was better than the $400 income collected from taxes during the Covid-19 period.