We heard recently about how all those regular tuk tuks that hang out at the tourist hotspots are crying because they're not making $1000+ per month anymore.
I've even had them crying on my shoulder. Their excessive profits of course, were down to ripping tourists off by up to 4x or more, and pulling shitty tricks like agreeing one price, only to change it to another when one had reached their destination. If you tried to protest against these shitty tuk tuks they would often pretend to get violent. Lets not even talk about how they like to gang up on tourists who have had a bit too much to drink and batter the fuck out of them in a 10 on 1.


Well, if that wasn't enough to make your hearts bleed, now we have financial institutions like banks and MFIs bleating about paying vat on certain of their services.

Please will all tourists and expats - especially teachers - shed a tear for these abused​ and downtroden poor folk. I feel sure if you dropped into one of their branches they would gratefully recieve any charitable donations you can or cannot afford.

Notice the reports liberal use of the word 'client'. They wouldn't be trying to mislead people into beleiving it meant the poor and not themselves would they?

http://m.phnompenhpost.com/business/mic ... cribed-vat

Microlenders refuse to apply prescribed VAT


"
6 Jul, 2017 Hor Kimsay
The industry body representing the Kingdom’s myriad microfinance institutions (MFIs) threw down the gauntlet yesterday, announcing that its members had categorically rejected a government directive that orders them to charge a value-added tax (VAT) on financial services fees and would not apply it.

Hout Ieng Tong, chairman of the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA), said during a CMA board meeting that a prakas issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) in May that more clearly defines which nontaxable supplies receive a VAT exemption under existing legislation has created undue pressure on MFIs.

While many in the banking sector previously understood the law to exempt all financial services from VAT, the prakas indicates that a 10 percent tax must be applied to most banking services except loan interest repayments and money exchange services.

Ieng Tong said he was concerned about a backlash from MFI clients and that the association would lobby tax authorities to drop the controversial measure, which analysts have described as “impractical and inefficient”.

“At this moment, we have agreed with each other that we will not activate the 10 percent VAT on fees for financial services,” he said flatly.

“We are worried that clients will be annoyed when they use our financial services because in the past they have never been informed that they are obligated to pay VAT.”

The move to disregard the MEF’s prakas on nontaxable supplies follows weeks of uncertainty and social media uproar about how the financial sector would implement the additional fees on money transfers, loan assessments and banking services that traditionally generate revenue through fees and commissions.

Ieng Tong added that the government should have warned financial institutions about the clarification ahead of its issuance so that they could properly inform their clients. He also said operators needed time to put in place the necessary investments to properly manage the additional tax invoices that would have to be sent to the General Department of Taxation (GDT).

Bun Mony, an adviser to the CMA, said that if the group’s members followed the decree their clients would face higher costs to access financial services. He said CMA members, which include over 60 MFIs, would not apply the VAT as the association intends to meet tax authorities later this month to resolve the issue.
...

Thanks in part to MFIs, I have land, a new house and 3 motos. The family has a car and a new house extension.

The trick is paying it back, the.... wait for it.... you can borrow again to buy more stuff. I see no difference in an MFI loan than being given a Visa card back home.

Why your one man crusade against credit gets you so worked up, I don't know, but most Cambodians are grateful for MFIs (even if they complain about paying back) and have improved their lives in no small part thanks to them.

John Bingham wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2017 9:51 am Still talking to yourself about MFIs? You've made loads of threads about this under your various sock-puppets and nobody has ever shown the slightest interest.

I may be seemingly talking to myself, but i can assure you there are many that agree with me. Just not the majority of Cambodian expats that post on these fora it seems. But for me, when the wealthy are taxing the poorest of the poor with completely unregulated financial services from the banks, something needs to be said.

When i tried to bring MFI bad practices to people's attention on the other forum, it didn't take me too long to get banned. My last comnent on that thread was that you would be hearing more about this. Not from me necessarily, but from the newspapers.
I think i have been proved correct in my views.

Kampong Spooner wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2017 10:04 am Thanks in part to MFIs, I have land, a new house and 3 motos. The family has a car and a new house extension.

The trick is paying it back, the.... wait for it.... you can borrow again to buy more stuff. I see no difference in an MFI loan than being given a Visa card back home.

Why your one man crusade against credit gets you so worked up, I don't know, but most Cambodians are grateful for MFIs (even if they complain about paying back) and have improved their lives in no small part thanks to them.

Your post shows myself and others that have bothered to keep up with the social implications of MFI loans, that you haven't got a clue what you are talking about. Btw, I'm pretty sure you're the family gravey train, not the MFIs.

AlonzoPartriz wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2017 10:28 am

Kampong Spooner wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2017 10:04 am Thanks in part to MFIs, I have land, a new house and 3 motos. The family has a car and a new house extension.

The trick is paying it back, the.... wait for it.... you can borrow again to buy more stuff. I see no difference in an MFI loan than being given a Visa card back home.

Why your one man crusade against credit gets you so worked up, I don't know, but most Cambodians are grateful for MFIs (even if they complain about paying back) and have improved their lives in no small part thanks to them.

Your post shows myself and others that have bothered to keep up with the social implications of MFI loans, that you haven't got a clue what you are talking about. Btw, I'm pretty sure you're the family gravey train, not the MFIs.

How so? Do you actually know any Cambodians? And no, I'm no gravy train. Used to help pay back on a collective family loan, but stopped after it ended.

No offense, but you often come off as an uninformed, self repeating fools who believes his own biased rantings and dismisses any evidence or first hand experience that runs contrary to them.

Plus my experience with locals is that they ALWAYS complain about money (never enough), whatever the circumstances.

Good news for MFI investors - the banks and MFIs have won. Maybe not so good news for people taking loans out though, well not the one's that are broke appart from their land. I wonder if the 100 fold increase in land disputes last year had anything to do with MFI loans?

I can just hear a complainant now: " I owed $5000 to MFIs and now, after a short time of not be able to pay, they have taken my land worth over $60,000'.

Tax pulled after mutiny

"Just one day after the Kingdom’s microlenders mutinied and said they would not implement a government directive requiring all financial institutions to implement a 10 percent value-added tax (VAT) on fees for financial services, the Tax Department announced it would back down and temporarily suspend the controversial decree until it could conduct a study and address private sector concerns.

The General Department of Taxation (GDT) said in a release yesterday that the implementation of a May 25 prakas that more clearly defines the government’s laws for nontaxable supplies concerning primary financial services would not be implemented “until further notice”.

“[The] GDT will cooperate with the private sector to examine and clearly study the definition of the phrase ‘primary financial services’ and the implementation of [the] VAT,” the announcement said, adding that the government was doing this to provide more consistency in regards to the law.

Bun Mony, an adviser to the Cambodia Microfinance Association, which on Wednesday announced that its entire membership of over 60 microfinance institutions had flatly rejected to implement the VAT, said yesterday that he welcomed the GDT’s decision to suspend its implementation, adding that operators can now take the time to properly prepare themselves for any future changes.

“This is truly great for financial operators and consumers because it reduces the extra workload that we were worried about,” he said.

http://m.phnompenhpost.com/business/tax ... ter-mutiny

AlonzoPartriz wrote: ↑Mon Jul 10, 2017 11:37 am Good news for MFI investors - the banks and MFIs have won. Maybe not so good news for people taking loans out though, well not the one's that are broke appart from their land. I wonder if the 100 fold increase in land disputes last year had anything to do with MFI loans?

I can just hear a complainant now: " I owed $5000 to MFIs and now, after a short time of not be able to pay, they have taken my land worth over $60,000'.

Tax pulled after mutiny

"Just one day after the Kingdom’s microlenders mutinied and said they would not implement a government directive requiring all financial institutions to implement a 10 percent value-added tax (VAT) on fees for financial services, the Tax Department announced it would back down and temporarily suspend the controversial decree until it could conduct a study and address private sector concerns.

The General Department of Taxation (GDT) said in a release yesterday that the implementation of a May 25 prakas that more clearly defines the government’s laws for nontaxable supplies concerning primary financial services would not be implemented “until further notice”.

“[The] GDT will cooperate with the private sector to examine and clearly study the definition of the phrase ‘primary financial services’ and the implementation of [the] VAT,” the announcement said, adding that the government was doing this to provide more consistency in regards to the law.

Bun Mony, an adviser to the Cambodia Microfinance Association, which on Wednesday announced that its entire membership of over 60 microfinance institutions had flatly rejected to implement the VAT, said yesterday that he welcomed the GDT’s decision to suspend its implementation, adding that operators can now take the time to properly prepare themselves for any future changes.

“This is truly great for financial operators and consumers because it reduces the extra workload that we were worried about,” he said.

http://m.phnompenhpost.com/business/tax ... ter-mutiny

Sorry, but did you just say something...?