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SPDC doubles automobile tax
Fri 13 May 2005,
Independent Mon News Agency (IMNA)
After the SPDC military regime seized unlicensed cars in Burma, its Ministry of Transport also doubled the tax payment for ordinary licensed cars countrywide, according to car owners.
?Before the government seized the unlicensed cars, the price of a Hilux brand car (produced by a Japanese company) was 8 million Kyat (8,500 US Dollars) and now the price has increased up to 15 million to 20 million Kyat (16,000 to 21,000 US Dollars). The government also doubled the tax from car owners,? said Nai Blai, a car trader from Ye town in Mon State.
Recently tax owners had to pay the regime a 10,000 Kyat tax for a Chinese truck, 8,000 Kyat for a Japanese Hilux car and 180,000 Kyat for a six-wheel truck. But now the tax has increased to 30,000 Kyat for a Chinese truck, 300,000 Kyat (330 US Dollars) for a Japanese Hilux car, and 500,000 Kyat for a six-wheel truck.
?We used unlicensed cars before. It was good. We didn?t have to worry much about taxes and just filled them with gasoline and used them. But now they (SPDC authorities) must arrest (seize) those types of cars,? said Nai Soe Aung, a car driver for Rehmonnya Transport Company.
The tax extension program has been conducted by the Ministry of Transport in every township since the beginning of April. Unlike in the past, the SPDC allows tax payment for a license permit for only one year, and car owners have to extend their car license every year. If they don?t apply for a license extension, their cars can be labeled ?unlicensed? and must be seized.
For cars which have licenses, the Ministry of Energy?s township departments also sell them 7 gallons of gasoline each month for each car.
For ethnic ceasefire group?s business, the SPDC, especially when Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt was prime minister, allowed car trading on the border with Thailand and China. Since then the number of unlicensed vehicles in Burma increased and were used in cities such as Rangoon and Mandalay.
After Khin Nyunt was dismissed from his position in October 2004, the regime has dealt with the problem of unlicensed cars by ordering owners to hand them over to the regime. Authorities also seized some cars in Mon and Karen states, including those donated to senior Buddhist monks.
The regime also set March 31 as the deadline for owners to hand over their cars. Thousands of cars countrywide were handed over to the regime and some were forcibly confiscated. The seizure of cars has created a shortage of transport vehicles and luxury cars in Burma and the price of cars suddenly increased.
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