CNI News

16 October 2023

Salary income tax of overseas Myanmar workers will be collected in two ways, according to the Internal Revenue Department. As the first way, without deducting the reliefs allowed under the Income Tax Act, 2 percent can be paid.

As the second way, After deducting the reliefs allowed under the Income Tax Act, tax rates can be calculated on the basis of income strata and the tax can pe paid. There are disagreements about the income tax among the overseas Myanmar workers and many of them are transferring money through Hundi system.  He still doesn't know how the government will collect the tax, said Hmwar Michael who is living in Malaysia, to CNI News.

"There are many places here where you can transfer money. The tax can be collected when the money are officially transferred through a bank. Most of the workers here don't transfer money through a bank. Largely, they transfer through money changers. So, the tax can't be collected. But when they renew their passports, the tax can be collected." said Hmwar Michael.

Although Myanmar workers are making pieces of evidence that both of countries ask, because the government did not provide suitable service for the workers, he wouldn't pay the tax, said Ko Moe Lay, who is working in Thailand, to CNI News.

Overseas Myanmar Workers

" Myanmar government hasn't helped us anything. When we change a CI book overseas, the government has designated 3 to 5 hundred bahts, but we have to pay 4 to 7 thousand bahts. It is the same as in Myanmar Embassy. The embassy says we have to pay 1,200 to 1,3000 bahts for a book to be changed. But it costs us 2,000 to 3,000 bahts because of officers and brokers. If the government help the workers effectively, we, the people won't hesitant to pay the tax." he said.

Because Myanmar Embassy helps Myanmar citizens just a little in comparison with other countries' embassies, overseas Myanmar workers don't want to transfer 25 percent of basic salary and they have no wish to pay the tax reportedly.

"Myanmar embassy tends to help Myanmar workers in the incidents that are noticed by the public such as the types of shooting cases in a Bangkok shopping mall and in car accidents in which MoU workers are included. But the embassy is far from helping in the cases such as the workers lost their jobs daily and MoU workers don't get full salaries and employers have taken the documents." said Ko Naing Aung Aung, director of the Arakan Workers Organization to CNI News.

In relation to salary income tax, the money that is to pay the tax can be calculted on the website of the Internal Revenue Department. For example, a Myanmar worker who is working in Thailand - if he gets 10,000 bahts a month, he must pay about 400 bahts as income tax if it is calculated at two percent of tax rate.

After deducting the reliefs allowed, if a worker pay the income tax at the tax rate depending on income strata, 10 lakh kyats for a parent, 10 lakh kyats for a spouse, 5 lakh kyats for a child and the money for social security fee have been designated. 

So, the tax that is to be paid will be different from one another depending on individual income