Major company absent from top tax payer lists
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Shwe Ayar Nadi Co Ltd, the creator of Laser Brand Toothpaste, was not included on the list of top taxpayers released by the Internal Revenue Department (IRD) this week.
US-based Colgate-Palmolive Co bought Laser Brand Toothpaste from Shwe Ayar Nadi Co Ltd in November for roughly US$100 million.
The Internal Revenue Department released separate lists of the country's 1,000 top commercial tax and income tax payers, as well as the top foreign tax payers and companies that paid taxes late throughout the 2013-14 fiscal year on December 22.
Companies that paid a minimum of Ks 10 million were included on the list of 1,000 top tax payers. It is unlikely that Shwe Ayar Nadi Co, which made at least $100 million last fiscal year, failed to pay a mere Ks 10 million in taxes.
Before investing in Myanmar, US companies must ascertain whether their local partners pay taxes correctly and properly report courses of income.
According to the Directorate of Investment and Companies Administration, Shwe Ayar Nadi Co Ltd, which is registered as Shwe Super Light Co, manufactures lemon tea, cereal, coffee mix and a variety of other foodstuffs.
Shwe Super Light Co (SSL) was not included on the top tax payers list, it's affiliate SSL Trading Co was included.
SSL Trading Co was ranked 479th on the list of the top 1,000 commercial tax payers after paying less than Ks 50 million. The company was also ranked 656th on the list of the top 1,000 income tax payers after paying less than Ks 50 million.
SSL Trading Co's tax payments are notably less than those of other coffee mix manufacturing companies.
Super Coffee Mix Co Ltd was listed among the top foreign tax paying companies for paying between Ks 50 million and Ks 100 million in both commercial and income taxes.
Tax payers have complained about the wide discrepancy between the profits earned and taxes paid by large companies in Myanmar. The weakness of tax collectors and the lack of transparency in companies' income reporting depress the government's total tax revenues.
No official explanation has been offered for the absence of Shwe Ayar Nadi Co Ltd from the top taxpayer lists.
