Cambodia Asks Gambling Businesses to Pay Due Taxes

Both the GDT and MEF have warned non-complying businesses about inroads with the law and the potential legal course the government may follow should tax obligations are not fulfilled.

Finance Minister Aun Pornmoniroth assured that there will be no fines or penalties on commercial gambling businesses that file tax returns and pay taxes voluntarily, and provided further clarifications on what these operations need to know about the tax system and their contributions to the state budget.

Government Promises No Penalties for Conscientious Taxpayers

The measure is not designed to exonerate, but rather assure businesses that mistakes in the reporting will be examined and returned to the businesses for review, rather than have the government step in and impose financial sanctions right away, which Pornmoniroth sees as one of the possible deterrents for many companies to actually step up.

The current legal tax system, and the part that impacts gambling businesses, is good for both the businesses and operators, argues K Professional Accountants managing partner Kuhn Darith.

The auditing firm, cited by The Khmer Times, believes that the way the tax is structured helps businesses familiarize themselves with the taxation process and offers solid returns for the country which is looking to clean up its gambling sector’s bad reputation which has ended Cambodia on many grey international lists.

“It is a very good strategy to collect more tax revenue as even though they would not be fined or penalized,” Darith explained. Cambodia has been keen to reform the way it collects tax from casinos, making its system more flexible and based on business performance more or less.

The move is designed to introduce clarity into the country’s gambling taxation laws and start chipping away at a grey area that has impacted Cambodia’s reputation internationally. The new rules that are pitched by the country are also designed to add more transparency to the sector and make it more accountable.

Many casinos are also being rebranded as commercial gambling venues after an initial grace period expires – a move that is designed to help bolster these venues’ standing and incentivize tourism and for the properties to seek to offer other amenities and entertainment options besides casino gambling.