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Same taxes, half the weight for Myawaddy truck drivers
Mon 15 Jun 2009,
Talalawi and Asah, IMNA
Truck drivers received word that the weight of their loads will be halved, though the tolls they pay will remain the same.
Traders in Myawaddy Town, Karen State, reported to IMNA that drivers headed toward Rangoon were contacted by the traffic police during the first week of June and informed of the upcoming changes.
For 10- and 12-wheel trucks, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) check points charge about 700,000 kyat toll along the Myawaddy-Rangoon highway, though this will remain the same with newly half-filled trucks.
A trader from Rangoon explained that every year the traffic police worry about the increased chances of car accidents because of the rainy season. Ostensibly, this is why the change will be enforced between now and October (when the cold season begins).
However, traders who opt to pay extra fees to the customs department are allowed to continue transporting full trucks, an eyewitness at a checkpoint told IMNA. “The SPDC doesn’t allow my trucks to transport a lot [of goods]; if we transport a fully-weighted truck through the trade zone, they won’t allow it. But the traders in their group can transport a full 12-wheel truck.”
Said a trader, “only toward Rangoon are the truck’s weight restricted [but not toward Mae Sot, the other common route]. Now we transport only half of our trucks. The SPDC takes the toll as usual, so we don’t have a profit.”
Because the baht exchange rate is high, the trader added, many will buy goods from Mae Sot and receive as little as a 5 percent profit in Rangoon, and still have to pay the tax in both directions on the highway.
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