Engineers Hold Labor Day Protest Against Paying Income Tax
More than 50 engineers employed by Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co. Ltd. to work on a new Neak Loueng Bridge in Kandal province protested on Wednesday over paying income tax of 10 percent and are threatening to go on strike again if their employer dose not pay them back. The Labor Day celebration by 54 engineers in Loeuk Dek district is the latest in a series of protests by workers who are reluctant to pay tax on their salaries and comes as pressure is rising on the government to become less reliant on donor aid and collect more in tax revenue. … Garment workers who make more than $125 a month through working overtime have also held protects over a 5 percent tax deduction and insisted that factories should be responsible for it. Still, collecting taxes is a priority for the government. The International Monetary Fund warned earlier this year that the government’s tax revenue is not increasing proportionally to the country’s gross domestic product growth. …
