Cambodia Daily slapped with multimillion dollar tax bill
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- MerkinMaker
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This thing about the Daily being selectively targeted is BS. The tax department is after everyone at the moment, nearly everyone I know that's involved with a business of any size here is currently being audited, and dragged across the coals. How do you think the tax department achieved such a massive jump in income over the last couple of years happened?
The Daily might have been bumped ahead in the queue, but this day was always coming and they knew it. Just as everyone else involved in business here did.
What else was the motivation to switch to become legitimate business and get their races in order? Their words not mine.
Also the whole question of whether they are a not for profit and their tax liability is a moot point. This is about income tax and that applies to everyone.
The government has made various legal clarifications over the years on this point.
Here's an article from 2011 that goes into details:
https://cambodianlaw.wordpress.com/2011 ... on-salary/
The Daily obviously hasn't been paying their income tax. Two choices now they've been called. Pay up, or grovel to the big man for clemency.
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The Daily might have been bumped ahead in the queue, but this day was always coming and they knew it. Just as everyone else involved in business here did.
What else was the motivation to switch to become legitimate business and get their races in order? Their words not mine.
Also the whole question of whether they are a not for profit and their tax liability is a moot point. This is about income tax and that applies to everyone.
The government has made various legal clarifications over the years on this point.
Here's an article from 2011 that goes into details:
https://cambodianlaw.wordpress.com/2011 ... on-salary/
The Daily obviously hasn't been paying their income tax. Two choices now they've been called. Pay up, or grovel to the big man for clemency.
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Stark monster is right. The issue of non payment of salary tax - money their management took from journalists and staff but neglected to give to the authorities - is being strangely brushed over by all the lubbers in their twitter frenzy.
Some of them - Colin Meyn - for instance is even suggesting the US and UN should issue condemnations.
Who the fuck do these self-absorbed, self-important children think they are?
Some of them - Colin Meyn - for instance is even suggesting the US and UN should issue condemnations.
Who the fuck do these self-absorbed, self-important children think they are?
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- Making Khmer girls cry since 2003
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Well, I'm not the Cambodia Daily's lawyer, but it seems they are making two arguments (in addition to the really week charity argument):
1. The current owner/operator of the Cambodia Daily purchased the assets of the paper from the prior owner. When you do that, you're generally not responsible for the liabilities of your predecessor, at least not in Western countries, I have no idea how Cambodian law works.
2. No audit has been done by the government, so how can they decree that $6.3 million is owed. Does anyone know how they would have calculated this without doing an audit? I think the government claims they did an audit, I don't know how they could have done that with the Daily knowing about it.
I haven't read all the news articles on this, has the Daily admitted that "yes, our practice has been to deduct x % from our employee's pay to cover governmental taxes and then we have just been pocketing that money or putting it back into the general account and we have never paid it to the government?" That's what posters here say this is about, but I can't see from the news articles whether this is about payroll tax or failure to pay tax on revenue.
Has anyone asked the Daily what taxes they have paid and not paid over the last decade and why?
1. The current owner/operator of the Cambodia Daily purchased the assets of the paper from the prior owner. When you do that, you're generally not responsible for the liabilities of your predecessor, at least not in Western countries, I have no idea how Cambodian law works.
2. No audit has been done by the government, so how can they decree that $6.3 million is owed. Does anyone know how they would have calculated this without doing an audit? I think the government claims they did an audit, I don't know how they could have done that with the Daily knowing about it.
I haven't read all the news articles on this, has the Daily admitted that "yes, our practice has been to deduct x % from our employee's pay to cover governmental taxes and then we have just been pocketing that money or putting it back into the general account and we have never paid it to the government?" That's what posters here say this is about, but I can't see from the news articles whether this is about payroll tax or failure to pay tax on revenue.
Has anyone asked the Daily what taxes they have paid and not paid over the last decade and why?
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I too don't understand where this assumption has come from.gavinmac wrote: I haven't read all the news articles on this, has the Daily admitted that "yes, our practice has been to deduct x % from our employee's pay to cover governmental taxes and then we have just been pocketing that money or putting it back into the general account and we have never paid it to the government?" That's what posters here say this is about, but I can't see from the news articles whether this is about payroll tax or failure to pay tax on revenue.
Also I have read that payment of tax is the responsibility of the individual but employers should facilitate payment.
I don't really understand how that works.
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- K440 Old Cunts Club
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I heard that turnover at CD totalled just under US$2 million last year
That sounds a lot of money but after taxes, it was still US$2,000,000.
That sounds a lot of money but after taxes, it was still US$2,000,000.
My posts are just jokes, maybe they're rude, offensive, and politically incorrect. They're not my opinion, viewpoint, idea, or judgement, but they're just fucking jokes so lighten up.
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Playboy wrote:Doubt asking them will do any good, looking into it and answering such a question would eat into their all important time of being Petulant Children
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The Post has published a few articles about this, including quotes from Deborah-Krisher Steele and Douglas Steele. Have their reporters asked "Hey have u guys paid any tax on anything ever or not?"
If the Cambodia Daily has paid any significant tax on revenue or payroll tax or any other tax, why wouldn't they mention that? Perhaps they just didn't pay any taxes and didn't deduct anything from employees' pay, at least prior to the recent sale of the business, because they thought as a non-profit they didn't have to. I don't know.
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- I live above an internet cafe
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The government is actively seeking to remove organisations it doesn't like -- NDI staff given 1 week to leave the country for example http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/ndi-o ... on-133946/ -- and yet the prevailing message on here re: the Daily is that they deserve anything coming to them?
Whatever the Daily's sins may be (and yes, apparent hypocrisy is always fun to point out), a more sterile political environment is in none of our interests.
For CD, PPP, VOA, RFA, NDI to be singled out as they have, for what may or may not be common accounting issues, suggests the focus has nothing to do with tax, and everything to silencing non-government media and institutions.
Whatever the Daily's sins may be (and yes, apparent hypocrisy is always fun to point out), a more sterile political environment is in none of our interests.
For CD, PPP, VOA, RFA, NDI to be singled out as they have, for what may or may not be common accounting issues, suggests the focus has nothing to do with tax, and everything to silencing non-government media and institutions.
Of course they haven't; journalists in Cambodia are amateurs who prefer to posture rather than ask probing questions.gavinmac wrote:Playboy wrote:Doubt asking them will do any good, looking into it and answering such a question would eat into their all important time of being Petulant Children
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The Post has published a few articles about this, including quotes from Deborah-Krisher Steele and Douglas Steele. Have their reporters asked "Hey have u guys paid any tax on anything ever or not?"
If the Cambodia Daily has paid any significant tax on revenue or payroll tax or any other tax, why wouldn't they mention that? Perhaps they just didn't pay any taxes and didn't deduct anything from employees' pay, at least prior to the recent sale of the business, because they thought as a non-profit they didn't have to. I don't know.
But the Daily's own words are the most revealing in this regard. Look at these from their own story today:
"The Daily was hit on August 5 with the bill alleging unpaid taxes stretching from 2007 to this year by the Finance Ministry’s general tax department and given 30 days to pay up or face seizure of its assets, among other remedies. The department has rejected claims by Ms. Krisher-Steele, who said she purchased some of the Daily’s assets from her father and has complied with tax laws since, as well as her father, who maintained that $39 million worth of charitable contributions should be factored in any unpaid taxes as deductions.
Speaking at a forestry protection forum at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, the prime minister denied Ms. Krisher-Steele’s claims that the dispute was politically motivated.
“The thief has not paid tax to the government for 10 years. Since its launch, it has not paid tax,” he said.
“If you want to stay longer, pay tax to the government,” he said. “If [you] don’t pay tax to the government, pack up and go. Be clear that it is not a political motive.” "
In their own words, they have 'complied with tax laws' since April. Well, that's nice of them.
Moreover, they imply, if they haven't complied with them before, shouldn't daddy's charitable contributions be taken into account.
They are doing everything but expressly admitting guilt. Ok, they might be arguing over the amount which, from memory, is around $2.5m, plus interest plus penalties.
Which brings you to the question, what possible tax could they not have paid. As an NGO, they likely weren't liable for corporation tax and by all accounts the paper has been run at a loss for years, with Bernie propping it up with his own money.
The only tax liability I can think of is the income tax they withhold from their staff. Any liability would be that they deducted the income tax from staff, and never passed it to the tax authorities. That's not an oversight. Someone, somewhere, decided not to do that as a matter of policy, over a decade.
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Marmite wrote: The only tax liability I can think of is the income tax they withhold from their staff. Any liability would be that they deducted the income tax from staff, and never passed it to the tax authorities. That's not an oversight. Someone, somewhere, decided not to do that as a matter of policy, over a decade.
What basis do you have to claim that someone withheld tax from employee pay there for a decade and never paid the tax to the government?
Why wouldn't you assume "They probably never withheld employee tax and the government thinks they should have withheld it and paid it to the government"?
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Well, it's less sensationalist isn't it? It does't make for a good preachy post.gavinmac wrote:Marmite wrote: The only tax liability I can think of is the income tax they withhold from their staff. Any liability would be that they deducted the income tax from staff, and never passed it to the tax authorities. That's not an oversight. Someone, somewhere, decided not to do that as a matter of policy, over a decade.
What basis do you have to claim that someone withheld tax from employee pay there for a decade and never paid the tax to the government?
Why wouldn't you assume "They probably never withheld employee tax and the government thinks they should have withheld it and paid it to the government"?
That's exactly what I assume has happened. They either decided not to pay, or thought they didn't have to pay.
Did you include PPP by accident or is something going on there? A bird whispered something in my ear but I don't know if it's related...cyclingqueen wrote:For CD, PPP, VOA, RFA, NDI to be singled out as they have, for what may or may not be common accounting issues, suggests the focus has nothing to do with tax, and everything to silencing non-government media and institutions.
Bless
Of course they have to pay - they have deducted them from their employees for heaven's sake. It's not optional.
I have spoken to a prominent tax lawyer in Cambodia about this. They tell me the government is entirely within its rights. When an organisation hasn't volunteered its taxes to the General Department of Taxation (GDT) the GDT is quite within its rights to do what is a called a Unilateral Tax Assessment. It is perfectly legitimate under Cambodia tax legislation.
This was issued to the Daily on August 3. The onus is now on the Daily to prove it's innocence.
I asked my contact for his assessment of the Daily's chances. His response: 'They are fucked.'
I have spoken to a prominent tax lawyer in Cambodia about this. They tell me the government is entirely within its rights. When an organisation hasn't volunteered its taxes to the General Department of Taxation (GDT) the GDT is quite within its rights to do what is a called a Unilateral Tax Assessment. It is perfectly legitimate under Cambodia tax legislation.
This was issued to the Daily on August 3. The onus is now on the Daily to prove it's innocence.
I asked my contact for his assessment of the Daily's chances. His response: 'They are fucked.'
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