Starting next month, Kayah State’s Municipal Development Department will no longer be levying a tollgate fee before the entrance to the towns and the city in the state, according to an announcement from the department. Instead, drivers will have to pay a “wheel” tax before re-licensing their vehicles.
The change is scheduled to go into effect on April 1 at all 10 of the Municipal Development Department’s tollgates across Kayah State.
Drivers will still be subject to the wheel tax, and may also soon encounter a more arduous vehicle licensing process.
Under the new system, only drivers who pay the “wheel” tax will be able to extend their licenses through the Department of Road Transport Administration for the 2017-2018 fiscal year, according to U Thant Htun, assistant director of the Kayah State Municipal Development Department. The local municipal department will provide applicants who pay the tax with a stamped card that they will need at the Road Transport offices.
Daw Htay Htay, a deputy officer at the Loikaw Municipal Development Department’s tax department, said the “respective township municipal offices will issue the [necessary] documents”.
U Thant Htun said that the new tax system is the result of negotiations between Kayah State’s Municipal Development Department and the Department of Road Transport Administration “in accordance with State Government’s guidance”.
He also cautioned that the change will result in a drop in revenue for the department, since the new system will not collect fees from drivers who are only visiting the state. He said the new system could lead to as a much as 30 percent decline in the tax collected.
In 2016-2017, the Kayah State Municipal Development Department collected over K 55,700,000 from the tollgates.
The state parliament has already rubberstamped the changes to the wheel tax collection, following discussions at the fourth regular session of state Hluttaw, from February 22 to 23.
Translated by Aong Jaeneh
Edited by Laignee Barron for BNI
