Government Proposes to Slash Salary Tax for Civil Servants

In the CPP’s latest move to court an influential voting block, civil servants making a monthly wage of less than 1,000,001 riel, or about $250, would no longer pay a salary tax under a 2017 draft national budget law set for review later this month.

Speaking on Thursday at a university graduation ceremony, Prime Minister Hun Sen said the government last year raised the no-tax salary threshold from 500,000 riel, or about $125, to 800,000 riel, or about $200.

The latest change will make “improvements for civil servants, armed forces and teachers,” he said.

The Council of Ministers will hold a plenary meeting to approve the budget bill on October 21, and is expected to send the proposal to the National Assembly for adoption by the first week of November.

The move marks the latest reforms for civil servants, some of whom joined in mass protests against the government after the disputed 2013 national election.

Days after polls closed, the Finance Ministry announced that government employees earning less than 244,400 riel per month, or about $60, would see their salaries boosted by more than 30 percent, to at least 320,000 riel, or about $78.

[email protected]

Related Stories

Latest News