The General Department of Taxation (GDT) is working to upgrade its IT systems and create knowledgeable tax service agents, in a bid to improve taxpayer compliance as well as promote efficiency and transparency in tax collection, deputy director-general Lim Delux reaffirmed on May 18.
Delux made the remark at the opening ceremony for a tax professional training course at National Tax School. The event was attended in-person by 230 people, including tax officials, and the course was the 17th of its kind, the GDT noted in a statement.
The statement cited Delux as outlining a number of key objectives of the programme, such as: improving quality over previous iterations; building a taxpaying culture; preventing tax evasion; ensuring accurate, concise and professional tax services and advice; and generating competent agents who are up-to-date with the latest relevant laws, regulations and IT solutions of the GDT.
He also called on trainees to use the department’s mobile apps, such as GDT Lucky Draw, to help taxpayers more effectively and contribute to ensuring sustainable tax collection.
The GDT reported that it collected revenues to the tune of 6.44254 trillion riel, or approximately $1.59075 billion, in the first four months of this year, or equivalent to 44.54 per cent of the $3.57170 billion target set in the 2023 Law on Financial Management.
Using an earlier report for reference, this figure would mark a 5.9 per cent increase from the “more than $1.502 billion” recorded for January-April 2022, which was said to be equivalent to 53.27 per cent of the $2.82 billion annual target for last year.
The GDT and the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia (GDCE) respectively posted $3.455 billion and $2.690 billion in revenues last year, passing their targets by 22.54 per cent and 4.94 per cent, as set in the 2022 Law on Financial Management.
The 2023 target has been increased by 26.68 per cent to $3.57170 billion, which is just 3.37 per cent more than the amount collected in 2022.
For reference, the GDT and GDCE had reported their 2021 revenues at $2.78192 billion and $2.2952 billion, down 3.7 per cent and 5.1 per cent over 2020. Although the former exceeded its full-year target by 24.02 per cent, the latter fell a bit short, at 97.1 per cent of its goal.
