Vientiane SEZ targets increase in revenue collection

Vientiane’s special economic zone (SEZ) witnessed significant investments of more than 170 billion kip from 14 newly registered companies, or 56 percent of the annual target of attracting 25 new companies.
These figures were reported on Thursday by the Director of the Vientiane Special Economic Zone Authority Office, Mr Thanongxay Khoutphaythoune, to the Vice Mayor of Vientiane, Mr Phoukhong Bannavong, when he attended a ceremony to mark the formal opening of a tax service unit in the SEZ.

The Vice Mayor of Vientiane, Mr Phoukhong Bannavong (third from left), inspects the newly launched tax service unit at the Vientiane Special Economic Zone Authority Office on Thursday.

The launch of the new tax service unit within the SEZ is expected to boost revenue collection and bolster the implementation of the government’s measures to tackle economic and financial difficulties.
In his report, Mr Thanongxay highlighted the achievements of the first six months of this year, in terms of issuing investment licenses to 14 companies that represented different fields such as industry, trade and services.
According to Mr Thanongxay, the newly registered companies have investment plans of more than 494 billion kip, while the actual investment is valued at 158 billion kip.
“In the first six months of this fiscal year, more than 88 billion kip has been contributed to the state budget, or 125.71 percent of the year’s plan of 70 billion kip,” he said.
The SEZ also recorded a trade surplus of 213 billion kip in the first six months of this year. The value of its imports was 252 billion kip, while the value of exports was 456 billion.
Currently, Vientiane has a total of five SEZs with 165 registered companies and their registered capital is worth at US$867 million. The planned investment value is set at US$5.7 billion and the actual investment value is now recorded at US$2.8 billion.
A total of 211 billion kip has been paid to the government and the SEZs have created more than 4,000 positions.
In his opening remarks at the launch of the tax service unit, Vientiane’s Vice Mayor, Mr Phoukhong Bannavong, said the launch of the unit will enable the government to collect revenues and address financial leaks via the use of modern technologies.
“It is also part of the government’s efforts to tackle economic and financial difficulties by applying modern and advanced technologies alongside the implementation of the one-stop service,” he said.
Mr Phoukhong praised the Vientiane SEZ for its contributions to the state budget and to building a stronger income base for Vientiane and the government as a whole.
“This newly launched service unit for taxation will facilitate various enterprises to pay taxes and other duties to the government via a one-stop service in a more transparent, modern and faster way,” he added.
The tax officials to be posted at various tax service units took part in a tax declaration workshop to learn about tax regulations, creation of IDs for taxpayers and use of the Tax Revenue Management Information System (TAXRIS).

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update August 5, 2022)