Hun Sen Points To Economic Benefit of Beer
Prime Minister Hun Sen encouraged the public to help the country by drinking beer during the inauguration of the new $60 million Khmer Brewery factory in Phnom Penh yesterday. “Don’t forget, [if you] drink one bottle or one can of beer, how much will the state get?” Mr. Hun Sen said during the inauguration ceremony in Dangkao district’s Choeung Ek commune. The state charges 10 percent Value Added Tax and 20 percent special excise tax for every can or bottle of beer sold locally, so consuming beer helps the country, Mr. Hun Sen said. “So drink one can and the state charges 30 percent [tax],” Mr. Hun Sen said. “The money we get from this revenue can be used to build infrastructure or used to pay the salaries of teachers, doctors and civil services such as the armed forces.” “To anyone who joins here today who thinks this factory is not useful because they don’t drink beer, thinking like that is wrong,” he added. …
