"Additional tax cuts on input products to encourage small businesses", 18 December 2020

In a bid to bolster the economy and consumption, the Cambodian government has reduced import taxes on products used in the manufacturing industry and to support the country’s small and medium enterprises, which have been worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The announcement, signed by the Prime Minister Hun Sen …, reduced taxes on materials critical to textiles manufacturing and others used by small and medium enterprises (SMEs)…

Meas Soksensan, spokesperson at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said the decision was in line with the government’s policy to promote SMEs, and refused to comment further.

The Cambodian economy has been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially the critical garment manufacturing and tourism sectors. The government had already provided tax breaks for aviation and tourism businesses …

Unemployed workers in the tourism and garment sectors were given small cash payments, and the government has increased spending on the “IDPoor” project, which now provides direct cash payments to families dealing with poverty…

Anthony Galliano, group chief executive officer of Cambodian Investment Management Holding, said that the measures to lower import taxes were targeted at universally helping the population as they reduced the cost of “staples and necessities”, and are a form of relief to the end buyer.

… Inguna Dobraja, country manager for the World Bank in Cambodia, said in the report that significant uncertainty remains to Cambodia’s growth outlook and that the most important policy goal must be to urgently regain jobs lost and suspended due to the pandemic…