Item 10 on the United Nations’ (UN) list of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is to reduce inequality by 2030. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) called income and gender inequality a growing global problem.
We outlined in Part 1 how e-commerce taxes are likely to affect the Southeast nations of Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Since e-commerce is transnational by nature, a few technical issues also surface when redefining conventional taxation laws to suit a more international context. It is, however, possible to look at what different jurisdictions have done so far.
Part 1: The need for e-commerce taxes in local economies The introduction of e-commerce taxes in Singapore is very likely, a Bloomberg survey conducted between 12 economists in February 2018 concluded. Singapore’s next budget tabling, scheduled to take place on 19 February, is anticipated to provide for the taxation of online vendors operating within that region.
Singaporeans will be bracing themselves for a hike in taxes ahead of the Singapore Budget that’s slated to be delivered next Monday on 19 February in Parliament. The Budget – to be delivered by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat – will outline the government’s financial plans for the rest of the year, which include public spending and taxes, among others.
Myanmar has notoriously low residential property taxes rates, accounting for just 7.5% of GDP, compared to the 13-14% its neighbours, Laos and Cambodia pay.In 2016, this amounted to just US$1.86 per capita in Yangon according to research done by the Renaissance Institute.
